


Never Turn Your Back On Me

by gothclark



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Angst, First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-06
Updated: 2010-11-06
Packaged: 2017-10-13 02:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 32,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/131768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gothclark/pseuds/gothclark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Draco must find something for the Dark Lord.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Never Turn Your Back On Me

**Author's Note:**

> This story was supposed to be 10 parts with each part being about 1,000 words, but it took on a life of its own and became a novella. I would like to thank lola, and coffeejunkii. They got me into this mess. I dedicate this story to them.  
> Warnings: Spoiler up to HBP.  
> Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling.

**1\. Black Star**

His robes were filthy. His arms hurt and his left leg was numb. His face was stained with dirt and tears. They were on the run. Everybody in the wizarding world wanted their heads. At least Draco assumed they did. After what he and Professor Snape had done, there was no way they would be welcomed back at Hogwarts.

Draco shifted, but it was no use. There was no way he could get a comfortable night's sleep. Snape had fallen asleep and he was snoring softly. They were holed up in a deep cave like animals. It was disgusting. No Malfoy should ever have to live this way, but Snape had brought them here. Snape knew what to do next. Snape had ordered him to follow him and Draco had followed. They were wedged deep in a crevice in a cave, with barely any room to move, far from any civilised place. Draco would cry, but he'd already done that bit. Almost non stop since they'd left the school.

His heart was pounding in his chest. It had only been a few days since they'd fled the school, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. The place he'd spent the last six years of his life felt like a distant memory already. He hated that place. He hated everything about it, but most of all he hated Potter, who was always doing everything better and faster and sooner. The last school year had been almost impossible with the pressure of Draco's task and Potter constantly in his face.

Snape turned his head and mashed his face right into Draco's neck, mumbling incoherent words in his sleep. He'd been doing that all night. Draco spit black greasy hair out of his face to no avail. Why weren't they doing something? Why were they here in this cave? What could they be waiting for?

A leg slipped between Draco's thighs and he gulped, pushing at the dead weight smothering him. Professor Snape was too big and too heavy for him to move, despite the fact that Draco was no slouch; he couldn't budge Snape an inch. Draco was glad they didn't have a wand to illuminate the scenario. It was already humiliating enough.

"Stop squirming, Draco," Snape suddenly said into his ear. Wide-eyed Draco froze with his hands on Snape's shoulders.

"Sorry, sir. My leg is trapped under your enormous bulk," Draco spit out vehemently.

"Is it broken?" Snape moved only an inch.

"No," Draco mumbled.

"Then stop moving about. And for god sake, don't call me sir. The least you could do after I killed for you is call me Severus."

Killed. He'd killed Dumbledore when Draco couldn't finish the task.

"You're not going to start crying again are you?" Snape suddenly asked. His hands were sliding down onto Draco's hips pushing up but there was nowhere for him to go. Snape's back was already against the cave.

Draco couldn't speak. He shook his head vigorously, sure that the lump in his throat would vanish soon.

"Well, do it. Go ahead. Get it over with." One of Snape's hands slid up and squeezed Draco's upper arm hard.

"I'm not going to cry, sir," Draco insisted. He finally managed to move his numbed leg. "Why are we here, Severus?" he asked, as he brushed smelly hair out of his face. Snape's face hovered right above Draco's and it wasn't pleasant.

His question was met with silence. The only sound was their collective breathing. Draco was about to say something when Snape covered his mouth with one hand. The strong smell of dirt filled his nostrils and Draco tried hard not to inhale but it was impossible. Snape's hand was so big, covering his mouth and nose.

"I should end it here," Snape whispered. His tone wasn't menacing or even terrifying. It was matter-of-fact. Draco froze and shivered. He felt like a butterfly trapped in a spider's web, pinned to the damp cave floor. "The vow," Snape hissed.

Draco inhaled a harsh, sour breath. Snape's hand did not move. The stench filled Draco's nostrils and his eyes stung. It was getting harder and harder to breath. He tried to kick but there was nowhere for him to go.

"Oh stop that!" Snape hissed.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Snape slid his hand from his face. Draco inhaled deeply harsh breaths, his lungs ached, his shoulders ache. Everything ached. His eyes stung and this time he let the tears fall. There was nothing to stop them. They slipped down his cheeks and into his dirt stained hair.

"There's something the dark lord needs you to do for him," Snape said in a quiet, controlled voice.

Draco nodded.

"There's no time. You have to leave in the morning," Snape slithered off of Draco and yanked Draco by the arm, pulling him out of the crack and onto his feet before Draco had a chance to react.

Snape slapped his own robes and at a loss for what to do, Draco imitated the taller man, brushing off his own dirty clothes. Faint light filtered in and Draco's eyes adjusted to the dark. He could just make out the sneer of Snape's mouth.

Snape finally moved toward the entrance to the cave. With relief in his breast, Draco gladly followed, then stopped when Snape halted just at the mouth of the cave, his hand on Draco's chest. Draco almost snarled. If there was something he was supposed to do for the dark lord, why were they wasting time here in this dank, dark place?

"The only information I have to give you is that you are to search for a jewel for the dark lord." Snape spun and glared into Draco's eyes. "It's something he values dearly," his voice was calm but serious as always.

Draco smirked and nodded. "I won't fail him," he said with much more bravado then he felt at that moment. He'd already failed to fulfill one task, but not this.

"It's called the Black Star. You must find it and bring it back to me."

 

 **2\. Weight**

Draco watched as Professor Snape stood at the mouth of the cave with his arms crossed, looking out over nothing. There was nothing to be seen as far as Draco could tell. It was all just forest and dirt and grass. Draco looked out, desperately trying to see what his teacher saw.

"Professor, what are you searching for?" Draco finally asked.

"My brains," Professor Snape muttered angrily. He spun round, cloak swirling. "Nothing," he said more clearly. He stared down at Draco as though he expected him to do or say something. "Well?"

Draco shrugged his shoulders, feeling a little braver.

"Why are you still here?" Snape said sharply.

Draco's mouth fell open. Where was he supposed to go? "You expect me to go out there?" he pointed out at the forest.

Snape stared down at him, unblinking.

"Alone?" Draco added. Perhaps Snape didn't understand. Who would take care of Draco, were he to just walk out on his own? Why couldn't Snape come with him?

Snape glared. "You witless boy," he leaned in and snarled.

Draco crossed his arms and glared back. "If my father..."

Snape glared harder and grabbed Draco by the shoulders. "Well, he isn't here, is he?" Snape growled. He squeezed Draco's shoulders hard and pushed him down until Draco fell back, landing in the dirt on his arse.

Snape stormed off in the opposite direction, muttering curse words under his breath. Draco watched in shock, unsure of what to do next, but as soon as Snape disappeared behind an old gnarled oak tree, Draco immediately jumped up and rushed after him.

"Sir, sir, please sir," Draco called out. He almost fell down again as he rounded the tree and smacked right into Snape, who stood stark still, his head cocked at an angle as though he were listening for something. Draco just barely managed to grab onto Snape's heavy robes, his fingers clinging desperately. He didn't want Snape to leave him here. How was he supposed to start looking for this object if he had no inkling where to even begin?

Snape turned and glared down at Draco, a snarl of distaste curling his lips.

"You'll have to move in the "muggle" world to get the gem," he finally said, in a low, rumbling voice.

Draco felt queasiness in the pit of his stomach at hearing the world muggle. Snape was joking, he had to be. All of this was one great big joke on him and any moment now his mother would come get him, his mother who was probably frantic with the news of what had happened at the school. She would have heard by now what Draco and Snape had done.

"I want to see my mother," Draco demanded in a firm voice. He might have been more convincing if he hadn't been clutching Professor Snape's robes so tightly.

Draco released his death grip on them just in time. Snape had reached down and was about to push him away again, but Draco managed to dodge out of his way.

"You heard right," Snape said. He straightened his robes as best he could then pushed Draco anyway. This time Draco was able to keep his footing. He reached out and slapped Snape as hard as he could on his hand.

"Stop that," Draco commanded.

In a flash, Snape was on him, knocking him down and pushing him into the ground, his wiry, strong hands around Draco's neck, choking him. Draco pushed and clawed and grabbed anything within reach. He managed to scratch at Snape's face, his nails digging in and leaving a trail of angry red marks down the side of one cheek.

Immediately, Snape released his hold on Draco and sat on top of his chest, staring down at him. Draco could only stare back. With his arms pinned beneath Snape's legs, there was nothing for him to do.

"I want my mummy," Snape mocked. "Shut up!" Snape leaned in, his face uncomfortably close. His foul breath puffed in Draco's face as he shouted, "Shut up, so I can think."

Draco didn't cringe and he didn't move as Snape's weight started to press down on him. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, sir," he whimpered. He just wanted all this to be over. He wished he were back at home and his parents were there to greet him.

He lay there with arms spread and legs still. Snape sat lost in thought, his eyes trained on Draco's face.

"We need to get you into some muggle clothes and we need to get you to where you'll do the least amount of harm," he said sharply. "You'll do everything I tell you to do." Snape paused and reached out to grip Draco's shoulder, pushing it harder into the dirt. "Everything," he enunciated.

When Draco didn't answer right away, Snape ground his knees into his arms and pushed his weight down into Draco's chest. His face was right there again, greasy hair falling in Draco's face. If Snape was so hacked off with him why wasn't he using magic to punish him? Draco could see it in his eyes. They flashed with rage. He'd never seen Snape so cross at him.

"I wish," Snape finally said. It was as though he'd read Draco's mind. "You'll not use magic to get the gem. You have to remain completely inconspicuous. Nobody must know who you are or why you're there. Is that understood?"

Draco nodded, too afraid to say anything in case he said the wrong thing. With great relief to Draco, Snape finally lifted off of his chest and stood, straightening himself as he started walking away.

Draco slowly stood, clutching at his chest and taking deep breaths. There was something terribly wrong here and Draco wasn't sure what it was, but he wasn't going to risk Snape's anger again. He was going to do what he was told no matter how strange and unusual the order. Snape had never failed him before. Draco was sure he could trust him.

They walked through the woods for a good while. Neither of them said a word, and Draco stayed as far behind Snape as he could without losing sight of the other man.

Abruptly, just as he was about to ask where they were going, they walked into a clearing. In the center of the clearing, stood a ramshackle wooden cabin.

 

 **3\. Cabin in the woods**

The cabin was mostly hidden behind overgrowth. It didn't look particularly safe to enter, but Snape opened the door that hung from one bottom hinge and stepped in. When the whole building didn't fall down around him, Draco followed.

The interior was worse than the exterior. Draco crinkled his nose at the horrid stench and covered his mouth.

"What, are we moving in here now?" he asked as he looked around the tiny room. There wasn't really much to see. It consisted of one room that was mostly overrun with shrubbery and tall grass. The stone floor was barely visible. A weathered chair sat on three legs in one corner and a small cot with a musty mattress that had almost all its stuffing pulled out sat in another.

Snape didn't answer. He walked over to what looked like a large bush and bent to pull at leaves and vines, until he revealed a large black trunk. It looked almost new and very similar to the trunk Draco used to bring his things with him to school. Draco stood just out of Snape's reach and watched as Snape opened the chest. It looked to be filled with clothing.

"We should find something in here that will do the job," Snape said as he yanked a few of the garments out and tossed them at Draco's feet. "Try these." He stood up, turned, crossed his arms, and watched Draco expectantly.

Draco looked from Snape to the clothing scattered at his feet. He signed deeply and pulled his robe off, letting it fall heavily to the stone floor. He yanked off his school jacket and tossed it aside, and then slowly unbuttoned his shirt. He'd lost his tie a while ago. It suddenly occurred to him that Snape wasn't turning around, so Draco turned to avoid looking at the cold stare of Snape's dark eyes.

With his back to Snape, he felt only a little less self-conscious.

"Oh, come now," Snape signed a long suffering sign and muttered something about wishing he were dead. "It's not anything I've never seen before."

Draco almost laughed. There had been much speculation about whether Professor Snape was a pervert. Draco thought how funny it would be to tell all his housemates just how much of a pervert their potions teacher was.

Once Draco had stripped down to his bare bum, he reached down to pick up the clothing, ignored the feeling of Snape's eyes on him. He hadn't really examined the clothes closely, but now he saw that they were a white blouse, pink knickers and a short black skirt. Draco paused as he examined the articles of clothing.

"Sir, are you sure..."

"Just get on with it, Mr. Malfoy!" Snape barked.

Without turning around, Draco yanked the long-sleeved blouse on and buttoned up the pearly white buttons. The sleeves were just long enough that they covered his wrists. He reached down for the knickers, feeling his cheek pink when he heard a contented sigh from Snape, and hurriedly pulled them on. They just barely covered his private parts.

Draco stepped into the opening of the skirt and pulled it up, fastening it as quickly as he could. It looked like something Pansy would wear. It was barely long enough to cover his knees. Draco turned around, feeling completely foolish. Snape walked around him, carefully examining him from every angle.

"It fits," he mused. Snape rubbed his smooth chin with one hand as he circled round Draco, looking lost in thought. Snape stopped just behind him.

"Sir, it's a girl's..." Draco jumped and squeaked as he distinctly felt a hand caress his inner thigh. The cold, clammy hand crept up until it paused just below Draco's bum.

"You're showing entirely too much leg," Snape mused.

No kidding, Draco almost blurted. The hand moved away and Draco distinctly heard snickering. Draco spun round, ready to shout at the humiliation, but when he was confronted with a very stern glare from Snape, Draco decided it would be prudent to just keep his mouth shut.

"You're right," Snape drawled. "This is much too conspicuous. I'll find something more appropriate." Snape pushed past Draco and bent down in front of the trunk of clothing. He rummaged around, tossing items aside. Draco was sure he was taking his time to keep him in the skirt as long as possible. He glanced around the room and started when a pale face stared back at him. It took him a moment to realise he was staring at his own reflection.

Draco walked toward the mirror that was hidden behind some vines. He pushed overgrown leaves and stems aside to reveal an old, rusted full length mirror that lay at an angle against the wall. His reflection stared back at him. Draco glanced down at his full reflection. He sneered and turned, lifting the skirt up.

"When you're finished admiring your reflection, come here and change into these," Snape drawled. He held up a bundle of clothing. Draco rushed over and snatched the clothing from Snape's grasp.

He quickly pulled the blouse and skirt off and tossed them as far away from himself as he could just in case Snape changed his mind. He was about to pull off the knickers when Snape interrupted, placing his hand on Draco's hand.

"I'm afraid those were the only undergarments," Snape raised a brow. "You'll have to just make due." He held up something pink and stringy. "I'm very sure you'd have no use for a bar."

Draco noticed that his original clothing was gone. Somehow, when he hadn't been looking, they'd vanished. He snarled at Snape, and pulled the black long-sleeved t-shirt on over his head as fast as he could, convinced that Snape would pull some prank on him while he was vulnerable. Nothing happened, though when he flipped his hair, he found Snape staring intently at him. Draco turned his back on him and slipped into the jeans. They were blue and worn out at the knees. Draco zipped and buttoned up then straightened.

"Not as pretty, but those will do," Snape finally said.

Draco resisted the urge to call his ex-school teacher a pervert.

 

 **4\. Trek**

It seemed that his clothes were gone. His school robes, shirt and trousers had all somehow vanished. Draco managed to find a pair of black, worn-out trainers that were one size to big for him, but it was all he had. He'd looked hard for his own clothing as Snape stood silently lost in thought, but Draco had only managed to find one black sock, which he'd tossed aside in a huff.

When the potions master abruptly turned and exited the shack, Draco obediently followed. He kept as far from Snape as he could without losing sight of him as they once again trudged through the undergrowth. The forest was thickest here and Draco was too afraid to ask why they were still in this spot.

They walked for what seemed like ages and the sky darkened to a deep blue. Draco hadn't realised that so much time had passed. He wrapped his arms around himself as the air grew chillier. Since he'd lost his robes (he was sure Snape had done something magical with them when Draco had turned his back to change) he had nothing to cover himself with, and the thin long-sleeve t-shirt and worn blue jeans weren't enough to keep him warm. Without socks, his feet were getting colder by the minute.

Draco rubbed his arms for friction. He was becoming hungry and exhausted as well. It didn't look like there would be any food or shelter any time soon.

Abruptly Snape stopped and Draco smacked right into his back, grabbing hold of Snape's robes to keep upright.

"Pay attention," Snape barked sharply. He spun and glared down at Draco. "Ungrateful little..." he snarled.

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Take this," Snape said as he held out a folded square of parchment. Draco took the parchment and clutched it in his fist. "Everything I know about the gem is written down on that..." Draco went to unfold it but a firm hand gripped his. "Don't read it here," Snape instructed. "I'm sending you to where it was last seen."

"Sending... how?" Draco asked immediately.

Snape raised his hands and wrapped them both around Draco's neck. Draco took a step back, but Snape held him to the spot, glaring down at Draco.

"Magic, you idiot," Snape said menacingly. His eyes flashed with anger. "There are a few other things you'll need. Hold out your hands." Snape pulled a deep purple cloth bag out from the folds of his robes and dropped it in Draco's hands. "You'll find things that are necessary in the muggle world."

The bag was the size of his hand and weighed down. When Draco shook it gentle he could hear coins clinking inside. He poked a thumb and a finger into the hole at the top, and teased the drawstring open. He reached in and pulled out paper. He recognised it as muggle currency.

"It's for America. The bills are worth the same amount as the numbers on them," Snape said as he snatched a green bill from Draco's hand. He waved the bill in Draco's face. "This being a ten dollar bill, as there is a ten..." Snape pointed at the number.

Draco stared dumbfounded. "I can read, you know," he said pointedly. The money floated down as Snape released it. Draco just managed to snatch the bill before a sudden gust of wind captured it.

Snape pursed his lips and glared, narrowing his dark eyes. "There are some coins and tokens," he added drolly. "There is one thing," Snape leaned over Draco and snatched his right hand, plucking his ring from his finger.

"No!" Draco shouted, flailing as he attempted to catch the ring from Snape's cool fingers. Snape held it up over his head just out of reach. "That belongs to me. You can't do this." Draco shouted in outrage.

"I can do whatever the hell I want." The ring vanished beneath Snape's heavy robes. "I am in charge here," he said with a glare.

Draco backed away. Snape narrowed his eyes and sneered. He turned his back on Draco, straightening his robes as he walked. "We have no time to lose," he drawled.

Taken aback by this absurd statement, Draco marched around his professor and halted Snape's progress. He placed his hands on his hips and sneered right back. "Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Draco shouted, unable to hold his anger and frustration back any longer.

Snape raked his gaze from the tip of Draco's toes to the top of his blond head. "Malfoys," he muttered.

Draco was furious. "What is that supposed to mean?" He shouted as loud as he could. He pointed a long finger at Snape. "You're supposed to be taking care of me! You've humiliated me at every turn. You even molested me!" he shouted. Snape just continued to glare, expression unchanged. Draco planted his feet firmly on the spot and crossed his arms. "We are not going one step further until you tell me exactly what is going on."

"Pick up your bag," Snape said as he deftly stepped around Draco.

"I just said..."

"I heard you." Snape continued to walk away. When he didn't stop, Draco bent to pick up the bills and coins. He stuffed them into the bag. He added the slip of parchment Snape had given him and tugged the satin cord until it closed and looped the string around his wrist. He stood to find that Snape was out of sight. Silence greeted him. Draco's heart leaped in fear.

"Professor!" he called out, rushing in the direction he'd last seen Snape. "Sir!" Draco called out. He glimpsed something white on the path. As he ran he caught his left toe on a root and fell forward, face first into the brush. Draco cried out and threw his arms out to stop his decent, but his shoulder smashed into the ground, sending a sharp pain up and down his body. When he finally caught his breath and looked up, the forest was gone. It had been replaced by mown green grass and a garden.

 

 **5\. Park**

Draco stood and rubbed his arm, but it didn't take away the ache. Nor did it change the fact that he was somewhere else and that he was currently clutching a white kerchief in his right hand. He stared down at the singed cloth then tossed it to the ground, muttering a curse under his breath.

He immediately started to walk in the direction he'd already been going, in the hope that this was all some illusion that Snape had conjured on a lark. The object he'd spotted in his path was gone. The path he'd been following was gone. Instead, he stood in what looked like a garden. There were rose bushes all around and Draco was right in the center of a large bush, thorns and all. He cursed Snape as he parted the bushes to avoid getting stuck on the thorns and managed to only prick one finger.

He needed to gain his bearings immediately if he was to find this gem.

Draco walked out of the garden and onto a stone pathway, almost smashing into a muggle. He managed to jump out of the man's path just in time to avoid being knocked to the ground. The muggle had the nerve to glare at him as he rushed past. Draco turned away, deciding that the best tactic would be as little contact with muggles as possible.

Draco sneered at the thought of spending time in the muggle world and shuddered at the thought as he imagined being trapped in this place surrounded by non-wizards. They made his skin itch.

He took deep breaths and tried to think happy thoughts as he walked out of the garden and into a park. He was surrounded on all sides by green grass and tall trees. Sunlight streamed through the tall trees. He guessed that it was probably near the lunch hour. People were everywhere, sitting on the grass, or sitting on benches or walking; the park was full of muggles. It was a wonder that nobody had seen him portkey into the area, but that must have been the case, since nobody was paying him any special attention. They were all just moving along with their mundane existence.

Draco's stomach rumbled. He was starved and he needed something to eat right away, but first he needed to decide on a course of action. He needed a plan.

He quickly walked to a weeping willow and sat down, leaning against the thick trunk. He brushed pale-blond hair out of his eyes as he pulled the note from the bag and unfolded it to read what was written there. It wasn't much. Draco glanced up, squinting when the wind shifted the low hanging branches, allowing sunlight to fall across his face.

Around him, nobody took any notice of his actions. It was peaceful here. Draco sank down to the grass and wrapped one arm around his legs. He held the note up and read Snape's scribbles.

'Find Augosy Books and look for Handbook of Engraved Gems by King'

 

That was it. He turned the note over to see that it was blank on the other side. Maybe the rest was written in invisible ink, but if that were true, why bother? Snape had told him he was not to use magic ever. And since Draco had no wand, there was no way around that little order anyway.

Draco stared at the note, desperately willing it to reveal more secrets. How was he supposed to make anything of this? It was an easy guess that Augosy Books (or was it Argosy, Draco wasn't sure if that was a u or an r) must be a book shop in this area since Handbook of Engraved Gems definitely sounded like a book title. The only problem was how to find it. Snape hadn't even written an address or anything, not that an address would be all that useful, since where ever Draco was it definitely wasn't England or anywhere near where he'd been.

He supposed asking was the best way to find out where exactly here was.

Draco stretched his legs out and yawned. His stomach grumbled loudly. He desperately needed to find food, but he was so tired. He'd close his eyes just for two minutes. First he'd find out where he was, and then after that he'd find something edible. There was sure to be something nearby. He'd noted that a few people he'd seen had been eating.

His wand shook in his hand and his arm lowered. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it. Wise, worn eyes stared up at him and soft words of assurance drifted up to his ears.

Draco screamed and jumped, opening his eyes with a start. He was here and not back at Hogwarts. Here was warm and a cool breeze rustled his hair. He wiped water from his eyes, cursing and mumbling that there was no way those were tears. When he finally looked up, he noticed that some woman was staring down at him with a concerned expression on her face.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

Draco sneered at her and noticed that a few other people had also stopped and were staring. He vaguely heard somebody say something about hearing screams.

"Where am I?" Draco finally thought to ask the woman. He could take advantage of these strangers.

The woman's expression of concern grew. "You're in the park," she said, seemingly stunned that he wouldn't know where he was.

"What park?" Draco bit out.

"Central Park in New York," she said. The other bystanders drifted away, so that the only one that remained was the concerned woman. She reminded Draco of his mum, with her long blond hair. Only this woman was dress much differently. She wore jeans and a pale pink sleeveless blouse. Narcissa Malfoy would never have been caught dead in those dreadful things. Now that Draco had gotten a closer look, she was nothing like his mother.

Draco looked away, eyes wide. "That's in America," he muttered. The woman eyed him warily and walked away, shaking her head.

Draco checked to see that he still had his bag and that everything Snape had given him was still there. He'd heard the stories about this continent. You had to keep your hands on your belongings at all times lest some muggle took them from you.

 

 **6\. Serendipity or not**

He had no idea where to begin. He was supposed to find this place, Augosy (or Argosy) books, but how?

The afternoon had already passed with no more incidents. Draco was too terrified to sit or to approach anybody. He walked aimlessly through the park, running into the same fountains, statues and, in some case, people over and over as the sun crossed the sky. He passed the same bronze statue of a falconer for the twentieth time when he finally decided he should probably do something other than walk in circles.

He was still very hungry and his stomach had taken to growling like a monster for the last half hour. He needed food badly, but again the problem remained; where would he go to get something edible? He's spotted nothing that looked remotely like food beyond a few people who had brought lunches with them and sat on a bench to eat.

Before he'd been forced into this exiled state, Draco had never wanted for anything. His mother had always provided him with his every need. He wished desperately that he were home at Malfoy manor with her right this moment, eating the sweets she always set out for him. Before all this, before his father had been sent to Azkaban, before the Dark Lord had returned, Draco's life had been so perfect.

He hungered for that right now. He wanted his mum to sit with him and stroke his hair as she did some afternoons. He wanted to hear her words of comfort. He wanted to hear her reassurances that everything would turn out grand, and that his father would be home any second. Even if he paid Draco almost no attention beyond asking what spell he'd practiced that day, Draco missed his father desperately. He'd never tell anybody that out loud. He'd never told mother that out loud because he'd become head of the house while dad was away.

But those things wouldn't be happening any time soon. Those days were done. Draco needed to be strong. He had a duty to perform and a task that the Dark Lord had set for him. Snape was counting on him and he needed to get his act together.

He'd already allowed half the afternoon to pass with no inkling of where he was to go beyond some name of some shop that he had no clue how to find. He still didn't know what he was going to do when he got there. He'd not been paying much attention to what was happening around him, but now he turned his thoughts to where he was. He needed to understand this place. He needed to understand the Muggle world. After the incident where he'd woken up screaming, he'd avoided any contact with people.

Draco stepped in the path of the first person that came close. The tall dark haired man was dressed very nicely and wore a tie. He looked harmless enough.

"Excuse me, sir," he said. "I'm looking for a store called Augosy books. Could you tell me where to find this place?" Though Draco thought he was polite and not demanding in the least bit, the man just shook his head and continued on his way, barely stopping on his journey. Draco stopped three other people and not one knew what he was talking about. Maybe Snape had blundered and sent Draco nowhere near this store.

Draco paused under a large oak tree and pulled the note out again. He examined it carefully, holding it close. He'd thought it said Augosy but upon closer inspection of Snape's horrid penmanship, Draco wasn't so sure the u was a u. It could have been an r. It almost looked like an r. Perhaps it was an r in which case it would be Argosy books that Draco needed to find.

This time Draco held the parchment in hand and stopped a nice looking elderly couple who seemed very harmless. At least they actually stopped. All the other people he'd flagged down hadn't even bother to do that much.

"Excuse me, sir, madam, I was wondering," Draco held up the parchment and pointed a thin pale finger at the word. "Is there a shop called Augosy or Argosy books near by?"

"You must be a tourist," the lady said. The couple held hands.

"I don't fucking believe it," a familiar voice shouted across the park. Draco looked up to find the source of the voice. There it was, Potter headed right for him less than a few hundred feet away. Draco had stopped in an open area of the park and there were people everywhere. He froze on the spot, parchment still held up for the couple to examine, though the two people were slowly edging away from him as they had also spotted the dark haired boy headed their way.

"You bastard!" Potter broke into a run.

Those words were enough to snap Draco out of his immobilized state. He turned in the opposite direction and ran away from Potter, whose sprint had turned into a full out run. Just as Draco had turned away, he saw that Potter's hand had reached into the sleeve of his jacket. There was no way Potter would use magic here in the middle of a park with all these Muggles to see. As long as Draco stayed here, he would be safe.

"You'd better run, Malfoy!" Potter shouted. He was much too close for comfort, but Draco managed to duck into an overgrown area. He rushed behind high, thorny thickets, catching his shirt sleeve as he dived beneath them. What the hell was Potter doing here? He must have somehow known where Draco was and now he was after him.

Draco chanced a peek through the brush. Potter stood, trying to catch his breath, his wand at the ready. Draco's eyes widened. Potter meant to use magic here! That wasn't possible. There was no way Saint Potter would ever break rules.

Draco cursed under his breath.

 

 **7\. Flight or fight**

"When I catch you, you'll wish you'd never been born," Potter called out. His voice was filled with vitriol like Draco had never heard before. How the hell had Potter found him? After what Draco had done that was to be expected, but it had to be a fluke, a long shot, or maybe not. Maybe he'd been on the hunt for Draco all this time.

The grass and leaves rustled from the cool breeze. A silence fell around him and Draco's heart pounded in his chest. The warm day suddenly seemed much too hot and Draco's shirt clung to his back from the sweat that had accumulated from the short run.

"Come out, ferret face." Potter's voice was closer, almost upon him. "I know you're here. Come now. Let me tell you all about Dumbledore's funeral."

Draco took the risk and jumped from his crouching position to rush out in the opposite direction, running as fast as he could, barely watching where he was going. He crashed into bushes and flower arrangements, not caring one bit where he trod. This was his life. If Potter managed to touch him, there was no way for Draco to defend himself. Potter had a wand. Potter probably had his friends somewhere close by, because wherever he went, Granger and Weasley were sure to follow.

Draco couldn't resist the urge to glance back just once to be sure that Potter wasn't too close. He ran headlong into a shrub and tumbled, rolling down an unexpected incline. Pain shot up his entire body and the world became a green and blue blur as he fell. By the time he finally came to a stop, Potter was right there. He slammed down on top of Draco, pushing a knee right into his solar plexus. A fist came down and Draco managed to turn his head just in time to avoid it. Instead Potter only managed a glancing blow. The pain was excruciating.

"That's for Bill," Potter seethed. Draco struggled but Potter shifted his weight and pinned one of Draco's arms under his knee. With one knee in Draco's chest and the other quickly numbing his left arm, Draco only had one arm free. He reached up to slap Potter but was caught by his wrist. Potter twisted his arm and violently slammed it down on the ground, dirt and grass flying everywhere. Draco had never seen Potter this enraged.

A fist came down, this time hitting its mark.

"That's for Dumbledore," Potter screamed. With each punch Potter delivered to Draco's face, he called out a name, the last one being Ginny Weasley. Though Draco wasn't sure what she had to do with any of this, he wasn't about to ask in the middle of a beating. Potter was too heavy for him and no matter how hard Draco struggled, he couldn't get him off. He kicked up, hitting Potter on his back. This only seemed to enrage the other boy even more.

With one last slap across Draco's face, Potter finally stopped his beating. Winded and wild-eyed, he sat with his full weight on Draco's chest and arms. Somehow Potter's glasses had stayed on his face. His hair was a mess and longer than Draco remembered. Draco flinched at the look in Potter's eyes. A rather sharp, large rock was digging into his back. Potter slapped him hard across the face.

"What's that for?" Draco shouted in outrage. The knee in his chest ground down harder and Potter's foot crushed Draco's testicles. It was a pain like no other he had ever experienced.

"For being such a fucking prat!" Potter shouted as he ground his foot into Draco's crotch.

"Stop! Stop!" Draco yelped. Potter released his arm. As soon as his arm was free, Draco tried to cover his face for protection, but Potter was already pummeling him viciously with both hands.

"You're a sodding git, Malfoy," Potter said, accenting each word with a slap across Draco's face. Draco managed to deflect only a few. This seemed to anger Potter further. He drove his leg hard into Draco's chest, knocking the wind from his lungs. Draco's pinned arm had gone completely numb.

"I couldn't kill him," Draco coughed, wishing he could curl up and away from the pain. Potter drove his knee in harder and Draco gasped for air. Potter leaned in close; his face blocked everything else from view.

"I know. I was there. I saw everything," he whispered menacingly. "You didn't kill anybody, Malfoy. You're a failure through and through."

Brilliant green eyes swirled dark. Potter's face screwed up with anger.

"What's this?" Potter asked, holding up the bag Snape had given Draco. "You lost it when you fell on your arse." It dangled above Draco's nose, brushing across Draco's cheek just before Potter swung it in the air and slammed it into Draco's head.

"It's nothing," Draco said with a flinch. The bag slammed into his head a second time.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know." He'd no sooner finished the last word when the bag slammed into his head a third time. The coins and tokens Snape had given him weren't very heavy but being hit repeatedly wasn't much fun.

"Wrong answer, Ferret face," Potter snarled, raising his fist again.

"NO!" Draco shouted, holding his free hand up in a desperate attempt to stop another blow from falling. There was blood on Potter's knuckles. His lip throbbed and his left eye hurt. "Please stop," he whimpered.

Draco was sure that Potter eased up a fraction, shifting his weight so that his arm had room to move. He only managed to wiggle his fingers.

"Say that again, are you begging? Do it some more. I didn't quite hear," Potter sneered.

"Please stop," Draco sobbed. There was no way he would cry here right now in front of Potter but the pain was too much. Wetness stung his eyes and spots blurred his vision.

"It's going to hurt for a long time," he heard Potter say just as the world went black.

 

 **8\. Bitter**

When Draco awoke, the sky had darkened considerably. He opened his eyes just a crack to see where he was. Green leaves on branches swayed in the breeze and he caught glimpses of dark blue sky. His body ached and his lip throbbed, but at least he could feel his left arm again.

Draco rolled onto his side, curling into a ball. He could hear shifting behind him, which meant he wasn't alone. It was too much to ask that Potter be gone when he woke, but that seemed to be Draco's luck lately. There was no way he was going to say anything else.

"I know you couldn't kill him. I saw it all," Potter's voice was right above him. "I was there on the tower, frozen."

Draco flinched. He remembered the chase and Snape ordering him to run. He remembered all of it; every single time he slept, he dreamed about the moment on the tower. His whole body shook and though he hadn't eaten in a few days he thought for sure he was going to throw up.

Something tapped his arm three times and Draco turned his head enough to find Potter leaning over him, his wand in hand.

"You should have gone to him. He would have helped you," Potter whispered. He sounded weary and Draco rolled over to stare into the face of defeat. Potter looked older than he remembered, though it had only been a short while since Draco had last seen him. Potter sat back and wrapped his arms round his bent knees. He pulled his legs up close to his chest and held his wand limply in his grasp, staring blankly past Draco.

A blue and black rucksack sat beside him. Potter wore blue jeans that were stained green on the knees and a dark red jumper that had bits of grass stuck to it. His tousled hair made Draco think what he always thought about Potter: he looked as though he'd just been shagged. There were bits of grass and leaves sticking to his hair as well. Draco would have laughed if not for the seriousness of the situation.

When he glanced down, Draco noticed there was something in Potter's other hand. It was the parchment that Snape had given him.

"What's this about?" he finally asked, holding the folded parchment up.

Draco slowly sat up, his whole body tensing at the sudden movement. He swallowed hard and stared into Potter's green eyes.

"Argosy Books must be a store and the book title... you're supposed to look for it?" He slowly unfolded the square and stared down at the note. "Snape wrote this," he said with contempt.

How could he have known that?

Draco gingerly touched his split lip and the lump that had formed just above his left eye.

"You're a pathetic sight," Potter chortled. "I trounced your arse," he added with no contempt. "You fainted." On that note, he abruptly fell back and broke into peals of laughter.

"It's not that funny," Draco insisted, but Potter kept laughing until it almost sounded as though he were sobbing. Draco looked around and noted that nobody was paying them much attention at all. He'd wondered about that only briefly, but it seemed that here, people minded their own business. Two girls walked past, and seemed to take no notice of the insane laughter. Draco felt his face flush and inched away from the other boy.

The sky had turned dark. They weren't that far from a walkway. Muggles passed by and Draco watched them rather than pay any attention to the lunatic rolling on the grass beside him. He thought about running, but Potter still had his wand. Draco wasn't going to be fooled into thinking that Potter wouldn't choose to use it this time.

The laughter suddenly ended and Draco turned to find that Potter was splayed out on the grass staring up at the sky. From this angle, he could see Potter's face. There was no anger or hate or rage in his features.

"If you don't want to hear an unforgivable curse," Potter finally said, turning his head so he was looking at Draco, "You should stop trying to run right now."

"I wasn't going anywhere," Draco pouted and folded his arms across his chest. Potter sat up, never taking his eyes off him. Potter's intense gaze unnerved Draco and finally he had to look away. He felt naked and exposed. "There's nowhere for me to go."

Potter continued to stare unblinkingly to the point that Draco felt a flush creep across his cheeks.

"What?" Draco finally blurted, reaching up to brush blond fringe from his eyes. Potter continued to stare without a word of explanation. A hush fell around them as though the world had suddenly stopped. They were completely alone. This was the perfect opportunity for Potter to be rid of his rival, but instead he was staring. "What!" Draco shouted unable to take the scrutiny.

"I just never thought to see you here," Potter finally said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. His eyes traveled down to fall on Draco's arm. "Lift your sleeve," he demanded. "I can't believe I didn't think to do this while you were unconscious."

"It wouldn't be like you to take advantage," Draco retorted as he clutched the hems of his sleeves. "That's more Slytherin style."

"I need to know for sure," Potter said, narrowing his eyes and moving closer to Draco.

Draco fell back as Potter fell on top of him, gripping his arm and the sleeve. Draco had his other arm to pummel Potter with and did so vigorously.

"Get off me, Potter," he shouted as he repeatedly hit Potter on the head and side, but his retaliatory strikes seemed to have no effect. Draco rolled them until he was on top but that victory was short-lived as Potter rolled them again to regain the upper hand. By the time Potter managed to push the sleeve up, Draco had given up his struggles.

 

 **9\. Edible**

They'd gathered what meager possessions they owned and started to walk. Potter gripped Draco's wrist in his hand, and tucked his wand in his jacket within easy reach. Draco's bag had vanished into Potter's rucksack. They walked unhurriedly through the park until they reached a road. The sun had set and bright street lights shone everywhere. Draco stared up, craning his neck to see the tops of the tall building across the way.

Everywhere they looked there were tall buildings. Muggles rushed to get to wherever it was they were going. A few bumped Draco's shoulder rudely before he could duck out of their way. He sneered at the passing pedestrians, desperately trying to break free of Potter's grip so that he could run back to the park. It was a much nicer place.

"Stop yanking on my arm," Potter said as he pulled Draco closer, causing him to stumble and almost fall into Potter. His hair fell forward blocking his vision. Draco tossed his head in an attempt to tame the mutinous locks but it was no use. They fell right back in front of his eyes. He blew on them ineffectually and stumbled after Potter. There was no other choice. He'd tried repeatedly to reassure Potter that he wasn't going to run, but the other boy would have none of it.

He dragged Draco across the street, vehicles screeching around them. It was the one place Draco had begged Potter not to go. There was no reason for them to cross to the other side.

"Are you insane, Potter? We could be killed!" Draco shrieked, but Potter ignored his outrage and continued to drag them over to a restaurant. They entered the well lit entryway and stopped at a sign that said 'Please wait to be seated.' Draco huffed, using his free hand to brush blond hair from his eyes. The place looked clean enough. The lighting fixtures on the high ceiling barely illuminated the tables, but Draco noted that each table did have candles at them. The decor was a bland dark brown wood with even blander dark brown accents.

A female muggle approached them, her eyes automatically going to their linked hands. Draco sneered and turned away.

"We need a booth, please," Potter said politely. When Draco glanced back at Potter, he was smiling like an idiot.

Draco crossed his arms as best he could, considering he only had the use of one arm. They followed the muggle to a booth but instead of Potter sliding into one side and allowing Draco to sit across from him, he practically pushed Draco into the seat and slid in beside him, nudging Draco with his hip. Potter graciously accepted the menu the muggle handed to him then tossed his rucksack over the table where it landed neatly on the seat across from them.

"Git," Draco muttered and settled into his seat. The booth was well hidden and away from the front of the restaurant. On the table in front of him, the candle sputtered in its glass container. Potter opened the menu and perused it. Though the scent coming from the kitchen didn't smell all that appetising, Draco's stomach rumbled at the aroma of food in the air. If it was edible, Draco was willing to eat anything at this point.

The muggle girl returned with two glasses of water. Draco snatched his up and gulped it down thirstily, sloshing his sleeve as he tipped the glass.

"We'll have meatballs with spaghetti and two large cokes," Potter said to the girl. "Could I please have some extra meatballs on the side?"

Draco nudged Potter in the ribcage and glared, pursing his lips. Potter looked confused until Draco intensified his glare.

"And another one for my... friend," Potter added with that stupid grin. The muggle smiled brightly back at him, wrote their orders down, and then left them alone.

"Did you have to have exactly what I'm having?" Potter said with an exasperated sigh.

"Yes, and stop making that stupid face every time you speak to a muggle," Draco said in annoyance. He reached out and picked up a glass shaker that held black powder and sprinkled some onto the table. Draco leaned forward and sniffed experimentally then promptly sneezed.

"Person," Potter said, yanking the shaker from Draco and setting it back down on its spot on the table. "Say person when you're here, Malfoy, and stop playing with the pepper."

Draco straightened up, tapping fingers on the table top. "What if I need to go to the loo?" Draco smirked. "Do you plan to follow me in and hold my..."

"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter snapped. There was a long uncomfortable pause as they waited for their drinks and meal to arrive. Draco fidgeted with a drinks menu. "Do you need to go to the loo?" Potter finally asked.

"It would look rather strange if we went together," Draco turned in the booth to face Potter. "You can trust me. I promise I won't run out on you." He fluttered his lashes.

Just then, the muggle arrived with their drinks. She set them down and barely spared them a smile before rushing off again. Draco made sure to sneer at her as she left. He noted that he'd attracted the attention of a female muggle who looked about his age across from their booth and sneered at her as well. She looked away.

"Would you stop that?" Potter said sharply. He slid down his seat and grabbed his soda, sucking on the straw. A moment later, Draco was slurping his own drink.

"Disgusting!" he said, making a face and sticking out his tongue. "Muggles really are..."

"I said stop that!" Potter almost shouted. He spun on Draco and leaned in menacingly. His face was red from rage. "If you do not stop saying that word and acting like a complete git, I will shove this straw up your..."

Draco chuckled and smirked. "Relax, Potter."

The food arrived just at that moment, rescuing Draco from having to continue the conversation. He fell on his own plate and ate ravenously. It had been so long since he'd had anything at all to eat that he barely tasted the spaghetti and meatballs.

He didn't lift his head until he had cleaned his plate. When he did look up, Potter was staring at him mouth practically gaping wide open.

"I guess you like Italian then," he said as he popped a meatball into his mouth. Potter picked up a napkin. "You have a little..." he said as he reached out and dabbed at the corner Draco's mouth "... sauce here."

 

 **10\. Truce**

Draco froze and swallowed hard, too shocked to move or say anything. He stared into Potter's bright green eyes, dumbfounded. They weren't friends, they weren't ever friends. What was Potter playing at? He continued to dab at Draco's lip then slowly lowered the napkin.

"Um, well, now that we're fed, I need to get some sleep," Potter said clearing his throat, acting as though he hadn't just touched Draco uninvited and in an all too intimate manner.

The muggle approached their table and took the empty plates.

"Could I have the bill please?" Potter asked, smiling politely. She nodded and took away the dirty dishes. Draco was starting to see the advantage of having somebody with him that knew their way round the muggle world, but it was still distasteful to see Potter play the sycophant.

Once Potter paid for their food, they left the restaurant and walked a few blocks. Draco trudged behind Potter, gawking at everything they passed by. The streets were crowded, and he watched as muggles rushed here and there. Some entered buildings while others would stand at street corners then cross when the traffic had stopped. There was a pattern to all of this and most of the muggles seemed to follow it. They all seemed caught up in their own little worlds, which suited Draco just fine until one of them bumped into him or walked in his path. At least Potter wasn't holding his hand this time.

Potter paused at an intersection and threw his arm up across Draco's chest when a vehicle went screaming by. Draco stared down at Potter's arm, expecting him to lower it, but Potter didn't. It was as though he thought Draco would suddenly leap out into traffic.

"Watch it," he said pointing up at flashing lights. "The hand means don't walk and that red light means stop." As Potter spoke, the hand changed to a walking man. Potter lowered his arm and then started to walk, but it looked as though the lorry bearing down on them wasn't about to stop. Draco grabbed hold of Potter's jacket and pulled him back, narrowly avoiding being slammed into by the lorry. He angrily reached into Potter's jacket for the wand, ready to shout the first curse that came to mind at the speeding driver. Just as Draco gripped the wand in his hand, Potter stopped him.

They stood frozen, pedestrians flowing round them. Draco still clutched Potter close, their hands clasped together under Potter's jacket. He stared down into wide green eyes, suddenly aware of the scent of fear.

"Thanks," Potter whispered.

The blast of a horn snapped Draco out of his trance. Slowly he released Potter. "Sure," he managed, though his throat had gone dry. He released the wand and stepped away, taking care to put distance between them. Potter stared at him bewildered then cleared his throat.

"I have a flat close by. We can share it," he said, shuffling on the spot.

"Right then," Draco turned to face the traffic again and saw that pedestrians were already crossing to the other side. They stepped in unison onto the street. Once they were safely on the other side, Draco felt a sudden surge of relief. "Boy who lived," he muttered. "More like boy who couldn't cross the street without help."

Potter glowered at him and yanked Draco's sleeve, pulling them forward as they continued down the street.

"Or better, boy who almost got smacked by a lorry," Draco chuckled.

"Shut up," Potter muttered, his hand still clutching at Draco's sleeve. Draco glanced down as the white-knuckled grip and rolled his eyes. To think, this was supposed to be the wizard who would save them all.

They didn't have much further to go. When they finally did arrive, the building they entered looked old and rundown. Draco's original plan had been to spend the night in the park. Anything was better than living in a cave or sleeping on a bench.

They climbed up a flight of stairs to the second floor. The interior was worse than the exterior. Draco sneered in distaste as he stared at the tiny room that Potter was renting. There was a small bed in one corner with a nightstand beside it, and a plain three drawer dresser in another corner. Draco walked over to a curtain and pulled it aside to find a small window barely large enough to crawl through. It looked out at the building next door. Draco looked down to the ground below. There was no escaping from there.

Potter tossed his rucksack on the floor near the dresser and flopped down on the bed, kicking his trainers off.

A door to the right led to the toilet. Draco walked past the bed and went straight for the toilet. Slamming the door behind him, he finished up quickly then stood leaning against the sink. He stared into the small, smudged mirror at his reflection. His face was gaunt, paler, than usual and his hair was limp and dirty. He curled his upper lip into a sneer.

"Fine mess you are, Malfoy," he muttered. He noticed the reflection of a plastic curtain behind him and spun to brush it aside. Hidden behind the pink drape was a shower stall. In the confines of such a small room, Draco only just now realised how badly he stank. After all that time spent in the cave under Snape and rolling in the park with Potter, it was a wonder everybody he'd encountered hadn't turned their noses up at him.

There weren't any towels in the room, so he went back out to find Potter still on the bed, his eyes closed. For a second Draco thought about running, but he saw no reason to. He was much better off with Potter to help guide him, and thought there was no way he would ever say that out loud to anybody, even upon threat of a killing curse.

"I'm off to have a shower," he announced.

Potter opened his eyes and sighed as he flung his feet over the edge of the bed and pulled something out from under it. A light blue towel flew at Draco and he caught it just before it hit him in the face. Draco ducked back into the toilet and quickly stripped. Just as he stepped into the stall and turned the shower on, he heard the door open.

"What, you plan to watch?" Draco called out.

"The hot water runs out fast," Potter called out, "So you'd better be quick, or I'm jumping in with you."

 

 **11\. Clean**

It felt good to finally be clean again. There were times when he thought for sure he'd never get the dirt out from under his fingernails, or inhale the scent of shampoo again. This one happened to be strawberry scented. Draco idly wondered if Potter had purchased it, or if the place had provided it. He smirked and decided that it was probably Potter who'd picked out the fruity scented shampoo.

He poured as much as he could hold in his hand until the red, viscous liquid spilled over, dribbling on the tiled floor of the stall. Draco popped the lid shut tightly and tossed the plastic container on the floor. Eagerly he rubbed the shampoo into his hair, working it into a rich lather. As he turned in the small space, he bumped his elbow on the wall.

Peals of laughter filled the room. The sound lifted Draco's spirits until he realised why Potter was laughing.

"Pink knickers!" he heard Potter shout. "That's positively priceless. I wish Ron were here to see this."

Draco chose to ignore the taunting voice, and continued to luxuriate in the lavishness of a hot shower. He lathered soap on his chest and tuned out the continued taunts until he heard a distinct popping sound. Draco pulled the curtain aside, taking care to keep covered.

"What are you doing?" Draco growled. Potter had his wand out and he was pointing it at Draco's clothes, which now looked fresh and clean.

"Don't ever try to touch my wand again," Potter said. Draco smirked and pushed the curtain back into place. He tilted his head down, letting the spray of the hot water cascade over his hair, watching as shampoo swirled down the drain.

"Your wand is perfectly safe with me around," Draco muttered. The innuendos that came to mind were almost too tempting. He bit his tongue to stifle the laughter. He was sure Potter was much too much of a prude to even understand a single one.

"I heard that," Potter shouted indignantly.

A few minutes later, Draco stepped out of the shower stall and reached for the towel he'd left on the sink. Potter, who had sat down on the closed toilet seat, hurriedly handed Draco the towel. Draco made no motion to hide his nudity. He smirked and stared down at Potter as the other boy's face flamed bright red. Slowly, Draco wrapped the towel round his hips tucking it in to hold it in place.

"You never have to worry that I'd want to touch your wand," Draco said with emphasis on the last word. He curled his lip in a sneer and slipped past Potter, leaving the other boy to goggle at Draco's innuendo. Potter wasn't as dense as he'd thought after all.

Moments later, Potter had followed Draco into the small living space, Draco's clothing in his arms. He glared defiantly and tossed the garments at Draco.

"Here, put these on," Potter practically ordered.

Draco made no effort to catch the clothing. Instead, he let them fall to the floor. Potter fell onto the bed with his back to the headboard and took care not to look at Draco.

Draco dressed quickly then put the towel back in the bathroom. He leaned against the wall and watched as Potter pulled out a bag of crisps then proceeded to munch on them.

"It's getting late, so we should sleep," Potter said while he ate, crumbs flying everywhere. He absently brushed them off his chest. "We'll have to share the bed." He looked up at Draco through his glasses. In this light, Potter's eyes were a deep green with specks of red dancing in the pupils. He slowly licked his red lips, the tip of his tongue lingering at the corners of his mouth.

Draco shook the unwanted images that his mind had conjured and pushed off the wall. He stalked around the bed to the opposite side, where there was a bit more room, and hesitantly sat down. As he did, Potter moved over a few inches and accidentally tipped the bag of crisps over, spilling crumbs all over his chest.

"You're a disgusting slob," Draco scorned. Potter righted the bag and held it out.

"Did you want some?" he asked, but immediately withdrew his offer and the bag when Draco snarled his contempt.

"I prefer sweets," Draco said sharply. He tensed as he lay down beside Potter, taking care that they did not touch in any way. Potter shrugged and reached into the bag to continue munching.

"Your eye is blackened," Potter said matter-of-factly.

What was Draco supposed to say to that brilliant observation? He settled in silently beside Potter, trying to ignore the loud crunching noises. When Potter finally crumpled up the bag and tossed it to the floor, Draco rolled onto his side, with his back to Potter, and closed his eyes. There were worse things than sleeping in the same bed as Harry Potter. At least he wasn't in a dirty cave. At least Snape wasn't lying on top of him and crushing the air out of his lungs. At least he wasn't dead.

"Slob," Draco muttered. Potter poked him in the ribs.

"Prissy," Potter hissed.

"Disgusting pig," Draco whispered under his breath.

"I heard that," Potter smacked him hard across the head.

Draco kicked back, pleased when the heel of his foot connected hard with a soft body part.

"You should go wash up, slob who lived," Draco smirked. This was actually almost fun. He hadn't felt this light and carefree in so long, Draco almost laughed out loud.

As Potter went to wash up, Draco finally broke down and chuckled. He'd never imagined in any lifetime that he'd one day be trapped somewhere in a muggle building, teasing Harry Potter in a friendly manner. He'd teased Potter countless times but not like this. The weirdest part was that it didn't even feel strange.

As Potter returned and settle back in behind him, reality broke in on Draco's lighthearted mood.

"Tomorrow you're going to tell me why you're here and what that parchment means," Potter said in a matter-of-fact tone.

It was like throwing cold water right in Draco's face.

Potter reached over Draco to the lamp, leaning in close. His weight bearing down on Draco, pressing him into the mattress, Potter flicked off the lamp and plunged the room into darkness.

 

 **12\. Truth**

His chest felt constricted. His heart was pounding so loudly, he thought everybody would hear. Heavy breathing nearby distracted him long enough to look up into piercing blue eyes coming at him from totally darkness. No matter where he ran, the eyes followed him. He tripped and then he was falling.

Draco shrieked and thrashed. It wasn't real. It was another nightmare. It wasn't total darkness and he wasn't falling. He was in a flat in New York with Potter who had one arm flung across Draco's chest. The room was dimly lit. They'd both tossed around in their sleep and Draco no longer had his back to Potter. Instead, he lay on his back and Potter was snoring softly with his body pressed close to Draco. To Draco's horror, Potter had flung his arm across him and was hugging him. Their faces were so close together, he could feel Potter's breath blowing across his cheeks. A sense of disgust washed over him.

It was an awkward moment. Though Potter and he had agreed to work together, Draco couldn't help but feel the same emotional turmoil he'd always felt when he was in proximity to Potter. Draco had never really had an opportunity to examine Potter so closely. He had an aura about him that Draco could not deny. Potter looked naked without his glasses on and his fringe clung to his forehead in clumps. Draco stared unabashedly at the famous lightning shaped scar and was that drool at the corner of Potter's mouth?

Disgusted, Draco lifted the arm across his chest and flung it away, only to have it fall right back on his chest. Amazingly, this did not wake Potter from his slumber. Draco lifted the arm again only this time he gently tucked it between them in an attempt to nudge Potter away. That lasted less than two seconds as Potter threw his arm around Draco and snuggled closer, a happy grin on his face. This was too much.

Draco pounded on Potter's shoulder as hard as he could, and then pummeled him repeatedly until finally the sleeping boy awoke.

"You sleep like the dead," Draco said with disgust. "And you drool."

Potter stared blearily at him and swiped at his mouth with one hand, checking his hand when he was through.

"Why are you so close to me?" Potter asked hazily, still groggy from sleep.

Draco crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "We're sleeping on the same bed, you dolt," he said sharply.

"There's no call for that," Potter said crossly. He sat up and reached out to the nightstand for his glasses and slipped them on his pale face. Potter turned to face Draco, blinking owlishly. His hair stuck out at all angles, looking no different than usual.

"I am not a stuffed animal that you can molest during sleep," Draco grumped. Potter slid away and stretched his arms straight out in front of him. Draco noticed that Potter wore only shorts and a rumpled maroon t-shirt.

"I'll go get us some tea, shall I?" Potter said with a jaw-cracking yawn.

Draco sat up and leaned against the headboard, wrapping his arms around his bent knees. He watched as Potter slipped on a pair of jeans and slid his feet into his trainers.

"I'll just wait right here," Draco said, covering his own yawn with one hand.

Potter stood and stretched again, reaching up to the ceiling and bouncing on his toes. He left without a glance back at Draco. It didn't take long for Potter to return. For just a moment when he entered the room, he looked startled to find Draco still sitting on the bed where Potter had left him. He let his rucksack fall down from his shoulder near the bed and handed one of the cups he held to Draco.

"Cheers," Potter said, tipping his own cup to his lips and taking a tentative sip.

Draco slung his legs over the edge of the bed and gingerly sipped at the hot beverage. It was hot and felt good going down his throat, though the tea wasn't the way he liked it with milk and some sugar, he still drank all of it down. Potter sat down on the other side of the bed and gulped his own down quickly as well. When Draco turned he noted that Potter held up the parchment Snape had given him.

"So, what is it that you're looking for?" he asked.

"I'm supposed to find a bauble for the Dark Lord," Draco said without hesitation. He frowned, unsure why he'd said it.

"Why?" Potter asked.

"Snape said it's very important to him," Draco blinked, feeling uneasy. Why was he spilling everything so quickly? He should have made Potter work for what he wanted, especially after the beating he'd had taken at Potter's hands.

"This book has some information about this bauble," Potter mussed. It wasn't really a question, so Draco kept his mouth shut though he felt a distinct urge to speak.

"How is good old Snape?" Potter said contemptuously.

"He's a dirty old pervert," Draco blurted. He stared down at the empty cup in his hand, realising too late what Potter had done. "You bastard. You spiked my tea."

"You weren't about to tell me the truth..." Potter retorted.

Draco stood and threw the paper cup across the room as hard as he could, and then spun around to face Potter, anger burning in his chest.

"You never gave me the chance, did you?" Draco shouted. Draco marched around the bed, his hands balled into fists, and glared down at Potter. "I might have told you what you wanted to know."

Potter stood and laughed in his face.

"Right, I could see that happening," he bit out sarcastically, narrowing his eyes. "Doesn't surprise me that Snape is a dirty old pervert!" he yelled in Draco's face. "I'll bet he felt you up then ordered you to bend over!" Potter advanced on Draco, his face red with rage. They stopped when Draco smacked into the wall.

"No!" Draco shouted. He could see it in Potter's eyes. The realisation of the power he wielded over Draco.

"Are you a virgin?" Potter smirked.

Draco struggled hard against the pull of the Veritaserum. He bit his tongue; he gritted his teeth, hard, but it was no use.

"Yes!" he finally shouted, squeezing his eyes shut tight, barely resisting the urge to punch the smug smirk off Potter's face. "How does that have any bearing on any of this?"

Potter stepped away from Draco. "I just wanted to see you squirm," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

 **13\. Lucky**

They walked in silence, the world around them barely registering in Draco's mind. He was too busy wondering when the nightmare would end. Trapped with Harry Potter in America was a fate almost worse than death.

At least Potter had not continued to question him once he'd obtained the information about the Black Star. Draco could tell that Potter had wanted to continue the personal interrogation, but when he'd asked if Draco liked him and Draco had immediately blurted that he'd imagined Potter's broken bleeding body too many times to recall, that had shut him up quickly enough.

They had gathered their meager possessions, and Draco had followed Potter out of the flat and onto the street into a sweltering day. There wasn't one cloud in the sky and Draco's pale skin was suffering for it. He'd wanted to ask Potter if they could walk on the other side of the street, but that would require speaking to the other boy and they hadn't talked for at least ten blocks.

They'd stopped briefly at some contraption called a pay phone while Potter consulted a thick book filled with names and numbers. Draco leaned against the phone box, since there wasn't room enough inside for the two of them, as Potter anxiously paged through to what he was looking for.

"That's odd," Potter muttered. Draco pulled open the swinging door and leaned over Potter's shoulder to get a peek at what he was going on about. "The page I need is torn out."

"Figures," Draco grumped. He let fly the swinging door so that it slammed right into Potter shoulder.

"Ow! Watch it." Potter dropped the phone book and rubbed his elbow.

"You're pathetic." Draco snickered and shrugged his shoulders. "So we find another of these boxes. There's bound to be more, right?"

Potter glared at him as they moved on. Next he tried asking strangers for directions to Argosy Books. None of them knew what he was talking about. By noon they'd found fifteen phone boxes and either the phone books were completely missing, or the exact page they needed had been torn out.

There was definitely a suspicious pattern developing.

"It's probably a popular shop," Draco said as they entered a small cafe for a bite to eat. They sat down at one of the small round tables. Potter set his rucksack down at his feet. A muggle immediately took their orders. Once the food came, they ate in silence until dessert. Draco trusted Potter with that order. The hot fudge sundae he picked out was brilliant, and Draco ate zealously as he watched Potter pick at his own sundae.

"Are you a virgin, Potter?" Draco asked as Potter finally stuffed a huge dollop into his mouth. His timing couldn't have been better. Potter spewed Vanilla ice cream all over the table and down the front of his t-shirt. Draco snickered behind his hand as he watched Potter scramble to clean up the mess he'd made.

"That was cruel," Potter barked, rubbing at the splatter, which he'd somehow managed to get all over his glasses.

"I just wanted to see you squirm," Draco said cheekily. He couldn't stop gloating. It was too funny, seeing Potter all messy. He liked Potter messy, always had. It had always amused Draco to watch Potter back in school.

When they left the shop, Potter was in not much better a mood. Draco slapped him on the arm. "You never answered my question."

"And I never will," Potter snipped as he allowed the door to swing in Draco's face when they exited the cafe.

By the late afternoon it was apparent that somebody did not want this shop to be found, but Potter was determined. They went to the park to sit under the shade of a tree as he thought of what their next move should be.

"Maybe it's not a real shop," Draco said as he lay flat on his stomach and plucked grass from the ground. Potter sat cross-legged with his back to Draco, staring intently at the scrap of parchment as thought staring at it long enough would yield secrets.

"Maybe," Potter mused. He turned the parchment this way and that, flipped it over then sighed with frustration. He fell back with his head resting on the small of Draco's back. "Why couldn't the old fool have given you more to go on?" he yelled to the sky.

Draco kicked his legs up, careful not to hit Potter in the head.

"Maybe a reveal spell would help," Draco suggested.

"If that were true, why would he take your wand away?" Potter turned on his side his head still resting on Draco's back. The feel of the weight was comforting in a way that Draco was never going to admit to anybody. He was lucky the truth serum had worn off. There was a flutter of warmth in his stomach as Potter rubbed his head against Draco's back.

Then Potter suddenly sat upright, his eyes going wide. "That's it! Why didn't I see it before?" He held the parchment in front of Draco's face, pointing at a spot in the corner. "See here, look."

Draco peered at the spot, trying to see what Potter was going on about. There was nothing there.

Potter jumped up and rushed to the water fountain near by. Draco rushed after him and watched as Potter dipped the paper into the water and lifted it up to the sky.

"Look here," Potter pointed at the same spot and sure enough there was something written that had not been there before. It was an address. "Snape must have known that it would be hard to find the shop, but he probably didn't want just anybody seeing this." Potter said triumphantly.

Draco goggled at Potter, unwilling to point out the fact that Potter had just reasoned out something that Snape had engineered. It wouldn't do to tell somebody that they thought like their enemy.

"Brilliant," Draco said with a smirk. "Then let's go find this shop and get that book."

 

 **14\. The Shop**

"It looks pretty real to me," Draco said as he stared up at the green flag, flapping in the breeze. Emblazoned across it in gold lettering was the name of the shop. Sure enough, it was called Argosy Books. Draco held the glass door open for Potter to walk through.

As they entered the shop, the old muggle behind the front counter politely nodded their way. Draco stood near the exit in case they needed to rush out for some reason, and watched as Potter approached the counter. Draco gave the room they were in a quick once over. His eye caught a curious volume that was on display on a large wooden pedestal. After a moment, he ignored Potter, who seemed to be doing just fine, and walked up to the pedestal. The book was very old. It lay closed; the black cover looked worn around the edges.

Draco took this opportunity to examine the shop more closely. The front area consisted of a large well-lit room. The walls were lined with shelved upon shelves of books all neatly placed. Not a book was out of place, and there wasn't a speck of dust to be seen. Draco saw that the main room led to yet another room and slowly walked towards the entrance to the separate area.

The other room was lined with more bookshelves, and there were pictures of maps everywhere. The images were disconcerting as they were all motionless. Not even the portrait of some old muggle moved.

Draco approached the framed image and reached out to touch it.

"That's Mr. Drake. He sailed an ancient vessel back in sixteen hundreds," a voice to his left said. Draco started at the sudden intrusion and turned to come face-to-face with a muggle. He was thin and must have been very old for a muggle. His face was weathered and wrinkled. He sat behind a glass case that had stacks of maps laid out on top of it. His old hands shook as he pointed one finger at the portrait Draco had been examining.

"Positively fascinating," Draco said drolly. He examined the room, checking every title on the shelf to see if it was the one they were searching for.

"It's not in here," the old muggle said. He slowly eased out from behind the counter, taking care to place a pair of half-moon spectacles on his old, bulbous nose.

"I haven't even asked for anything," Draco said as he stared at an old map of England. There was something very odd about the map that he couldn't quite place. Then he realized that there was no Hogwarts or the line for the train that took them to the school.

"My name is Bartholomew Brenner. Look, see," the man said as he pointed to another map. Draco walked over to what the old geezer was pointing at and nearly fell back. There was another map of England, only as plain as anything in old English script was the word Hogwarts, right on a speck of land. The map was dated over one hundred years before.

Draco quickly stepped away. "I'm not looking for a map, Bart," he said as casually as he could. He tucked his hands in his pockets, wishing he had his wand.

The old man approached him and pointed a boney finger right at Draco's face. He was much shorter than Draco, and his back was stooped in a way that looked painful.

"You are Lucius' boy," the muggle whispered.

Draco's heart leapt into his throat and he stepped back to avoid being touched as the muggle who appeared so harmless just moments before advanced on him. His back slammed up against a wall and he recovered his senses enough to duck away.

"I have no idea what you're going on about, old man," Draco barked.

Mr. Brenner turned and grinned gape-toothed, nodding. "It's up front, what you seek. You were a seeker once, right?"

Draco backed away toward the entrance he'd come in, never taking his eyes off Mr. Brenner. Whoever he was, it was clear he wasn't a muggle. His smile didn't seem as harmless as Draco had first thought. The whole time Draco was in the room, he had Draco in his sights, following Draco out into the front of the shop. The smile faded when Mr. Brennan saw his co-working conversing with Potter.

The other shopkeeper that Potter had been talking with glared at Mr. Brenner and motioned for him to return to where he came from. Draco watched as Mr. Brenner, anger in his eyes, shuffled back to the maps area.

Draco rushed over to Potter and grabbed his arm, leaning in close.

"Tell me we got what we came for?" he whispered. The shopkeeper was staring nervously at Draco.

Potter held up an old book and a quick glance showed the title to be the one they'd been searching for.

"Please come again," the shopkeeper said to Potter. He pointedly ignored Draco when he spoke.

"Thank you so much for all your help," Potter reached out to shake the man's hand, but Draco yanked Potter away before they had even finished the social pleasantries. He pulled them out of the shop and over to the side of the building. Draco pushed Potter against the wall as Potter stuffed the book into his rucksack.

"That man knew who I was!" Draco squeaked. His heart pounded in his chest.

"I know. He knew me, as well." Potter pulled out of Draco's grip and stepped around him to walk back out into the street. "We need to get moving before they come after us."

Draco spun around to face Potter. "Who? Who's going to come after us?"

Potter turned to face him, eyes dark. "Death Eaters."

 

 **15\. The book**

They walked as quickly as they could, barely stopping for traffic. Draco trailed behind while Potter viciously stomped up the street. His anger could have been for any reason: the book shop, the fact that the sales staff had recognised them, the book Potter had stuffed into his rucksack. Whatever it was, Potter wasn't sharing his feelings, which was just fine with Draco. He wasn't here to share feelings. He was here on a mission for the Dark Lord. Somewhere along the line, Draco had forgotten that little bit.

Potter thundered up the steps to their flat and ducked into the building so quickly, Draco had to jump to grab at the door before it swung shut in his face. He caught up to Potter and closed the door to their room behind them.

Draco watched as Potter pulled the book out of his rucksack and set it down on the bed. Potter set the scrap of parchment down on top of it and wearily flopped forward onto the bed. He fiddled with his hair, brushing it out of his face repeatedly as he opened the book, eyes scanning the pages.

Draco sighed exasperation and walked over to stare over Potter's shoulder. Potter laid the parchment out, mumbling incoherent babble under his breath.

"What is your damage, Potter?" Draco groused. "It's not as if those muggles can tell anybody who is anybody about our visit."

Potter said nothing. He continued to scan the book, flipping each page more angrily than the last.

"It was just dumb luck that they knew about us," Draco added with confidence. It was only a coincidence. He was convinced of it. It was idiotic for Potter to be so concerned.

Potter shook his head and muttered under his breath again. Draco distinctly heard the word 'fool' in there somewhere. This was getting more than frustrating.

"Right then, we'll just go our separate ways, and I'll take that book with me. I reckon it belongs to me." Draco made no move to actually acquire the book from Potter.

"How do you reckon that?" Potter whispered. His eyes were still scanning the pages of the book. He swung his legs in the air, kicking out absently. One of his sneakers flew off into the air and landed at Draco's feet, the shoelace tangled in a knot.

Draco nudged it with his toe. "I learned to tie my shoes when I was young. Maybe it's something muggles don't teach their children."

Potter jumped from the bed and stood right in front of Draco, glaring up at him, hands balling into fists. His eyes flashed with anger.

"This isn't some game. People are dying!" Potter shouted, his face red and contorted with rage.

Draco resisted the urge to back away. Instead he leaned in close, snarling. "I fucking well know that you pompous, deluded bastard." It felt good to shout that to Potter's face. They both stood there leaning in with fists clenched at their sides. Draco wasn't sure what to do next. He wanted to hit Potter badly, but at the same time he didn't have the energy to do this any more.

"You're mother is dead!" Potter shouted.

Draco's heart went cold. He froze at the words. Potter stepped away swiping with a hand at the corners of his eyes.

"You're such a fool," Potter muttered and sat down, shoulders slumped, on the edge of the bed.

Draco stared at Potter, his throat dry.

"No," he muttered. "You lie. There's... it can't be." Draco said insistently. He turned on Potter and glared down at him. "Take that back."

Potter shook his head.

Draco advanced on him. "I said take that back right this instant," Draco demanded.

Potter shook his head again.

"Now!" Draco shouted as he reached for Potter's shirt collar. He yanked the other boy up onto his feet. Potter did not resist. He allowed Draco to drag him up, but refused to look Draco in the eye.

"I can't take it back. It's the truth. She was found dead in Malfoy manor. No suspects." Potter looked up into Draco's eyes. "No sign for her cause of death."

Draco released Potter and pushed him away. If there hadn't been any sign of how she'd died, that could only mean one thing. How could this have happened? All those months spent desperately trying to save his family. All that time spent in that damned room, alone with nothing and nobody else. Even if he'd failed to kill Dumbledore, he'd been entrusted with another task for the Dark Lord, so why would his mother have been punished?

Draco fell to his knees, too horrified to say anything else. His whole body was numb and his vision a blur. His hands shook as he reached blindly for nothing. He hadn't realised that Potter was holding him until he felt the hand on his hair, brushing it aside.

"I'm sorry, Malfoy," Potter whispered.

He wanted to rail against the injustice. He wanted to scream to the world. His mum was dead, gone. She'd been the only thing that had kept him going all those months. He'd thought that Snape would protect them both. He'd thought that nothing could happen to her or to him for that matter, if he did what he was told. If he'd done what he was told, but he hadn't. Snape had done the deed and now Draco's failure had cost him the one thing he still had to hold on to.

Arms wrapped around him, but Draco barely noticed. He didn't care right then who he was with or why. He didn't care at all anymore. His quest was for nothing. This quest had only been a diversion to keep Draco away. It couldn't be anything else. Snape had lied. He'd lied to him.

Draco looked up into Potter's bright green eyes. Now he had nowhere to go, and his only companion was the one person he'd hated for so long. He'd laugh if he wasn't going to be violently ill.

His stomach was so tied up in knots. Without warning, Draco twisted round, and vomited onto the floor. There was no turning back now.

 

 **16\. Advance**

That night, Draco barely slept. He kept, waking every time he'd managed to close his eyes. The last memory he had of his mum swam in his head. She'd leaned in to kiss his cheek as they'd parted when he'd boarded the Hogwarts express, only Draco had sneered and pushed her away. Comments about how he wasn't a child any longer had been left unsaid.

Behind him, Potter slept like the dead. They'd silently decided that it was best to stay in for the night. After Draco had cleaned up in the bathroom, he'd immediately gone to bed and curled up with his back to Potter. They hadn't spoken more than two words since Potter had said he was sorry. How could Potter be sorry? He'd hated everything about Draco from the moment they had met. He and his Gryffindor pals had long ago decided that all things Malfoy were worthless. That had never mattered to Draco one bit, but now he was here, stranded with nobody else.

He'd thought to sneak out in the middle of the night as Potter slept, but Draco couldn't chance that Potter had set some sort of enchantment on the room that would instantly wake him if anybody tried to exit or enter, for that matter. Potter was many things but he wasn't stupid.

He most likely did have something set; for one thing, Potter didn't seem the least bit worried that they would be attacked. After waking from his fourth nightmare, it had suddenly struck Draco as odd that Potter seemed completely bent on finding this gem.

What was so special about this gem that Potter was here?

The room had started to brighten as he lay there thinking. Draco rolled over and violently shook Potter's shoulder.

"Wake up," he yelled. "Wake up, Potter." Potter barely grumbled as Draco continued to shake him. It was like trying to wake a corpse.

"Leave me alone," Potter groused, but Draco wouldn't have any of that. He continued to shake him until the whole bed was quaking under them.

"Screw you, Potter. Wake up now or I will steal your wand and hex you into next month." He yanked on Potter's shirt, pulling it up and down. Catching sight of his shorts peeking from under his pants, Draco shoved his hand in and pulled on them really hard.

"Ow!" Potter sat up quickly, and slapped at Draco hard enough to sting, but Draco didn't care.

"Why do you want the gem? What is it? What does it do? I want answers right this instant." The words rushed out in a flurry. Draco clenched his fists ready to hit Potter across his pretty mouth.

Potter scowled and blinked blindly. When he reached for his glasses, Draco plunged forward and stopped him. He pinned Potter to the bed, their bodies pressed close together, his hands on Potter's wrists to prevent him from grabbing for the wand Potter had hidden in the mattress folds on his side of the bed.

"I want answers now," Draco demanded. He shoved his face in Potter's face to be sure that Potter could see his anger and fury. He wanted Potter to feel as helpless as he felt. He wanted Potter to hurt as he did. Draco's life had been so perfect until he'd gone to Hogwarts and met Harry Potter. Now all of that was gone and though he probably shouldn't, a part of him blamed it all on the boy pinned beneath him.

To Draco's amazement, Potter made no attempt to escape. He merely lay still, relaxing after a few moments of silence.

"I want to destroy it," Potter said bluntly. He stared unblinking into Draco's eyes and licked his own lips.

Draco gulped hard. His gaze fell on Potter's lips, unable to resist staring at that mouth. He could no long control his fury. Draco mashed his mouth to Potter's lips and kissed him with every ounce of anger and fury in him. Potter surprised him again when his lips parted and his tongue plunged into Draco's mouth, matching his kiss with equal passion. It became a contest after that as they fought for control of the kiss. Arms wrapped around Draco's body, pulling him in tightly.

Draco reached up and slipped a hand into Potter's unruly mass of black hair, yanking it hard and violently humping Potter's thigh. His whole body shivered when he felt his own erection rub up against the bulge in Potter's shorts.

He thrust up against Potter, rubbing his erection right against Potter's hardness. He could feel Potter throb and when Potter shouted into his mouth, Draco plunged his tongue in deeper. His whole body shuddered when Potter's tongue practically licked the back of his throat. Potter rubbed against him in return, and before he could blink Draco's orgasm overtook him.

They both collapsed at the same time, their arms still entangled and Potter's leg had slipped around Draco, holding him close. There was a deathly silence as they lay recovering from what had just happened. The wetness in Draco's shorts quickly became uncomfortable.

"Perhaps we should change," Potter suggested. Draco could feel his cheeks heat up. He cleared his throat.

"That would probably be a good thing," Draco whispered. They pulled apart and Potter stood, slipped his glasses on, and then went to the toilet to clean up. It struck Draco that he had just had his first real sexual experience. He waited until Potter had closed the door behind him before falling back and smiling like a fool. He had just rubbed up against Harry Potter and he'd kissed him! And, much to Draco's shock, it had been incredible.

Just as he was about to stand to strip out of his soiled shorts, the door exploded and a voice shouted. Draco fell off the bed in time to avoid the killing curse.

He shouted to Potter but it was too late. Potter came rushing out of the toilet clad only in jeans. He dived to the floor and landed beside Draco.

"That was close," Potter said as he slipped his hand between the mattress and box spring to pull out his wand.

 

 **17\. Retreat**

There was no way that the loud bangs and shouts were going unnoticed. Whoever had burst into their room, they were making one hell of a racket.

"Potter, some time today would be great," Draco urged when seconds ticked by and Potter still hadn't pulled his arm out. When he did finally pull his arm out from under the mattress, he came up empty-handed. Draco stared wide-eyed at Potter's own astonished looked.

"I left my wand in the toilet," Potter said.

"Brilliant," Draco muttered. He would have rolled his eyes if it hadn't been for the fact that he was too busy ducking another curse aimed at his head. He reached out and snatched something off the nightstand. It was a windup alarm clock.

"I'll distract them," he said as he motioned with his head toward the open door to the toilet. Potter nodded and Draco peeked up just enough to see where to aim his distraction. He threw it as hard as he could at the dark, cloaked figure that stood in the doorway.

"Accio wand," Potter shouted. His wand flew from the toilet straight into his waiting hand. He stood immediately, but Draco yanked him down. The distraction hadn't done the trick. The Death Eater was already shouting another curse at them. He barely missed Potter.

"Thanks," Potter said as they fell in a heap on top of each other. "We're trapped."

"We're royally fucked," Draco added. They needed to get out fast, but there was nowhere to go.

Potter shook his head, pointed his wand up, aiming for the Death Eater.

"Petrificus totalus!" he shouted, but the curse missed its mark.

Draco yanked the wand from Potter and stood, brandishing it at the cloaked figure.

"Petrificus totalus!" he screamed. At the exact same time, the Death Eater shouted a protection charm, rendering Draco's curse ineffective.

The next moment, he found himself flat on the floor with Potter on top of him. Just in time because the Death Eater had shouted his own curse.

"Somebody is going to notice this," Potter said. The way they were shouting there was no doubt that somebody would notice, and if a muggle were to suddenly stumble upon them, the Death Eater wouldn't hesitate to kill. They had to do something fast.

"You're the brilliant hero. Do something," Draco said as he handed Potter his wand. Potter looked at a loss, and he needed to get his mind in gear, because any moment their deaths would be assured. Potter's eyes cast round as though he'd find the answers written on the floors or walls somewhere. He pushed up onto his hands and knees, just over Draco. Draco's eyes trailed down to Potter's bare chest. This wasn't the time to be thinking of Potter's state of undress, but Draco couldn't help but notice. Potter had a very attractive body.

More shouts filled the doorway and Potter stood up without hesitation, pointed his wand and shouted "Petrificus totalus!" This time he hit his target and the cloaked figure fell forward as his entire body went stiff.

Draco jumped up, snatched Potter's rucksack and slung it over his shoulder.

"We need to get out of here fast before others shows."

Potter nodded and they both stepped over the stiff body blocking there path. There was a loud popping noise behind them and Draco swore. They didn't bother to look behind them as they both ran as fast and as hard as they could down the hallway to the stairwell. Potter was right behind him. Draco knew he wouldn't have to worry about him. Only one though ran through his mind, and that was to get as far and as fast from this place as possible.

Draco slammed into the front door of the flat as he hit it with the full force of his body. Moments later, Potter slammed into him, and they scrambled to get out of the building. Outside they would be safer with all the muggles around. The sun had risen and there were people everywhere, going about their business. Luckily, nobody paid much attention to two boys running down the street at top speed.

Draco wanted to stop. His legs ached and his lungs burned, but he couldn't stop. Finally, the stitch in his side forced him to slow down. They were well away from the flat, but as far as he was concerned you could never be too far away from where they'd just been. He grabbed at his sides and stopped near a tree, Potter right beside him. Draco fell into a crouch, panting, desperate to catch his breath.

"We're good now," Potter managed to say, though he was just as out of breath. He reached out to grasp Draco's arm.

Draco looked up and around at their surroundings. Whoever that had been, they would eventually report what they had seen to the Dark Lord, but it wasn't as though Draco had anything more to lose, except his own life.

Potter fell to the grass beside him, releasing his grip on Draco. Potter was still shirtless and Draco watched the rise and fall of his bare chest. He'd never noticed how nice a body Potter had. That was to say, he'd never noticed up until today. Unlike his own body, Potter's was solid, muscular, and his chest was thick and manly. Draco absently rubbed his own upper body.

Potter rolled his head to stare at him and burst into laughter. "Now isn't the time to be ogling me," he said with amusement.

Draco glowered as he yanked the rucksack off and slammed it into Potter's chest. With a loud oomph Potter pushed the rucksack off and sat up.

"I hope you have a shirt in there," Draco shouted. There was nothing amusing about any of this. Potter's laughter died instantly. With his wind back, Draco stood and stalked away.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Potter called out to him, but Draco wasn't listening.

He spun back round, angry to the point of bursting. Potter was pulling a dark blue t-shirt from his rucksack and was yanking it on.

Draco folded his arms across his chest, unsure of what to say. His mind was in turmoil over everything that had happened in just a few short hours. His heart hammered in his chest, and all Potter could do was laugh.

"You don't have to go all mental on me," Potter spit. He rummaged around in his rucksack.

Draco viciously yanked it from Potter's grip and flung it to the ground. "How can you be so casual about an attempt on our lives?"

"I'm not," Potter insisted. He scooped up the rucksack and slung it on his back. "We need to go now."

Draco couldn't move. He goggled at Potter's sheer stupidity. This must be why Potter had emotionally survived all those attempts on his life. He was just too stupid to know any better.

 

 **18: Shade of a tree**

A slight breeze blew his hair into his eyes, but Draco didn't bother to brush it aside. They'd been sitting under the oak tree in Central Park for what seemed like hours. Draco could feel the seconds ticking away.

He didn't much care why they were just sitting there. He didn't much care that nothing he could say could relate to Potter the urgency of their situation. Potter wasn't listening to him. There was something he wasn't telling Draco. A while ago, Potter had crowed triumphantly, but then refused to tell Draco what he'd discovered.

Another page of the book was turned as Potter, leaning against the trunk of the great tree they were under. He was carefully examining the book they'd gotten from the shop. Draco watched as Potter peered at the page he'd turned to as though he were not wearing his glasses. Just how blind was he?

Draco let loose a long suffering sigh and rolled onto his back. He wasn't going to ask again if Potter was too daft to notice that they had only a few hours before just narrowly escaped capture or death at the hands of Death Eaters. That Death Eater had been sent specifically to kill them. Obviously, whatever they were after was as important to The Dark Lord as Snape had implied.

Draco sighed louder and flung his arms out. One hand hit Potter on the knee, making Potter briefly look up before promptly going right back to examining the page of the book.

"Are we ready yet?" Draco asked.

Potter only shook his head.

Draco was unable to take the silence any longer. To be truthful, it wasn't completely silent around them. There was the sound birds chirping and the occasional muggle walking by, close enough for their voices to carry. Draco could hear what they were saying. Muggles were the single most boring creatures in existence. Not a single one talked about broomsticks, or Quidditch, or wands, or anything magical at all, for that matter. Draco had stopped listening to anything any of them said.

Draco waited at least five minutes before asking once again... "Are we ready yet?"

Potter didn't even shake his head this time. Something in the book had caught his attention. Draco sat cross-legged across from Potter, and leaned in close, trying to get a look over the edge of the book. Potter was tracing over the printed lines with a finger on the page and mumbling to himself.

"Are we ready yet?" Draco asked again, blowing at the hair that had fallen in his eyes. Potter looked up at him with a stupid expression, his mouth gaping open and his bright green eyes wide. Draco stared back unblinking and blew at his hair when it promptly fell in his face again.

Potter licked his lips and looked down at Draco's mouth. Draco smirked.

"You're thinking of kissing me right now, aren't you, Potter?" Draco leaned in closer his lips brushed against Potter's cool cheek. "What's stopping you?"

Potter didn't move. Draco heard the distinct sound of whimpering coming from the other boy's throat.

"Have you always thought I was..." he pushed his mouth into Potter's ear, licking at the shell,"...hot?"

Potter gulped loudly.

"The gem... has been... set into a ... an... engagement ring..." Potter stammered.

"Really?" Draco purred. "And how are we supposed to find the ring?" He sucked the lobe of Potter's ear into his mouth and gently nibbled. Draco was starting to like this game.

Potter shivered and one hand dropped the book in his lap so that he could reach for Draco's arm.

"What's the gem for?" Draco asked. He might as well take advantage. Potter seemed to have fallen easily under his spell. He licked a stripe up Potter's exposed throat. The sharp taste of sweat mingled with Potter's own scent. Draco didn't care. The movement had its desired effect. Potter dropped the book to one side and turned his head to kiss Draco gently on the mouth.

Draco wasn't having any of that. He lunged at Potter and slammed him into the grass, straddling his hips as he thrust his tongue deep into Potter's willing mouth. Potter ineffectually pushed at Draco's chest. There was no way Draco was letting Potter control any of this.

When they finally broke apart, panting, Draco settled on top of Potter with his arms crossed on Potter's chest and his chin resting on his folded arms. He smirked and almost laughed to see that Potter's glasses were askew. Potter reached up and adjusted them.

"What is the gem for?" he asked again. His eyes locked with Potter's own green wide-eyed gaze. He could see the war going on in Potter's head and knew the moment Potter was going to tell him the truth.

Potter cleared his throat loudly and tentatively placed his arms around Draco's waist. He fiddled with the hem of Draco's shirt, rubbing it between his fingers, and his knuckles purposely rubbed the smooth skin at the small of Draco's back.

"Why are you not rushing off to find this very important gem?" Draco lowered his voice. He punctuated his question with a wiggle of his hips. Potter's cheeks turned red and he grinned goofily. Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Potter reached out to push his glasses up his nose though they were perfectly straight now.

"It's not so simple, you see," Potter muttered.

"What's not simple about it? You must want it because it's powerful," Draco ventured. It was a safe bet that anything the Dark Lord wanted back and Harry Potter wanted to obtain was something with power. One would want to wield it, the other to destroy it, so that it wouldn't fall into the wrong hands.

"It's a piece of Voldemort's soul," Potter said it so softly, Draco was sure he'd misheard.

"A horcrux?" Draco almost yelled. The look of shock on Potter's face told Draco everything he needed to know.

This wasn't going to be simple no matter which way you looked at it. Draco would curse Snape if he could. Unfortunately Potter was the only one here and it wasn't curses Draco was thinking of at the moment.

 

 **19\. The Soul Inside**

The sun was already setting and the sky had darkened quite a bit since they'd run away from the Death Eater. They'd finally gathered up their things. Potter was leading them to a remote section of the park. Draco followed close behind. They'd lost their shoes back at the flat and things couldn't get much bleaker. Potter didn't seem to be in the least bit disturbed by the fact that they were walking around barefoot. He did however seem very disturbed by the fact that Draco knew about horcruxes.

It wasn't such a bad thing that he'd just snogged Harry Potter in some park in the muggle world. On the bright side, nobody they knew would see or know. On the other hand, Draco was becoming quite fond of seeing the pink blush in Potter's cheeks and had taken to experimenting to see just what would bring about his blush. So far, almost any sexual innuendo made Potter blush. Wank had the best effect.

"My father is a dark arts wizard," Draco reminded Potter.

Potter continued silently to march across the grass. He hadn't spoken a word to Draco since he'd revealed what importance the gem held. Potter could really be such a drama queen sometimes.

"There were dark arts spell books all over the mansion," Draco added. "Father always left them lying about, and I always read them."

"Shut up," Potter muttered.

"I can't help it if my father..."

Potter stopped and spun around to face Draco, his eyes blazing with frustration and anger.

"I said shut up!" Potter shouted. There was a scuffling noise behind them and a loud thump. Draco jumped forward and clung to Potter, but Potter yanked him off and pushed him away so that Draco fell on his arse. He sat, stunned at Potter's anger. The bushes nearby gave a loud outcry.

Potter glanced over at the noise then turned on Draco and pointed his wand in Draco's face. "Don't move," he said forcefully. Draco was too shocked to move. He sat where he'd fallen staring up with wide eyes.

Draco caught a flash of red behind Potter.

"It's all taken care of," a familiar voice said. "Harry! There you are! We had a devil of a time finding you."

Draco knew that cheerful voice anywhere. He sneered up at Potter and didn't move, just as he'd been instructed. Two pairs of shoes fell at Potter's feet.

"You left these behind in the room. Why do you have two different sizes? I know one is your size but the other ones are perfectly hideous," Ron Weasley shrilled. "What's this?"

He stepped around Potter and stood legs apart staring down at Draco, stunned into speechlessness, which was always a good thing. Immediately, Weasley pulled out his wand and pointed it at Draco. His long red hair fell in front of his eyes. Clearly frustrated, he reached up to brush it aside. Draco gave Weasley a once over. His clothes were same grubby hand-me-downs, as always. So maybe things hadn't changed that much. His wand hand shook with anger.

"You weren't kidding. You really did find ferret-face," he shouted.

"Say that louder, Weasel. I think the whole park didn't quite hear," Draco retorted.

"Shut up, you murdering bastard," Weasley yelled, taking a step closer to Draco.

Draco sighed and tilted his head. "I haven't killed anyone. Though I almost killed you," Draco bared his teeth and snarled. "Too bad I didn't succeed."

Weasley leapt forward, but as usual he was held back by his two friends. Hermione Grander made her presence known when she grabbed at Weasley's arm. She was dressed in muggle clothing as well.

"We don't have time for this!" Potter shouted. He pushed Weasley back and held his arms out as though to ward his friend off. "I have it all under control," he added, turned long enough to shoot Draco a warning stare. "Just report."

Weasley straightened his clothes and when he'd finally calmed down, Granger was the one who spoke first.

"The Death Eater you managed to petrify has been taken into custody. He won't be reporting to anyone," Granger eyed Draco warily as she spoke.

Draco sneered and looked away. Both Weasley and Potter held their wands pointed at Draco. Obviously Potter didn't want his close friends to know that he'd just recently snogged the enemy.

Potter kicked Draco's runners at him. One hit Draco's shin and rolled away. He grabbed at them and stiffened when he heard Weasley chortle.

"Put those on," Potter ordered with a wave of his wand. Weasley glared a warning, though this was more amusing to Draco than terrifying. Draco just sighed and went to work at pulling on his shoes. So Potter wanted his friends to think that he had Draco Malfoy as hostage. Draco could play along with that. He smirked as he pictured shackles and collars. This mental image only managed to send a very pleasant feeling of warmth coursing through his body.

"What do you want me to do now, Potter?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Potter stopped and stared down at him as though Draco had just gone mental. With things being the way they were, Draco was very shocked that they both hadn't already gone completely around the bend.

"Shut up," Potter said. He turned his attention back to his friends and they walked a few feet away, whispering too low for Draco to hear what was being said. Weasley always kept one eye and his wand trained on Draco. It was so clever that he could multitask like that.

Draco was about to turn his thought into a biting comment when Weasley and Granger turned and left with not one word of good bye. Draco wasn't shocked. They'd always been such a rude bunch.

Potter bent to put on his own shoes and then stood back up. He stared down at the ground, lost deep in thought.

"Couldn't tell them, could you?" Draco finally broke the silence when it went on far too long for his liking.

Potter looked up and stared into Draco's eyes. A million emotions warred in the green depths. Then he fell to the ground by Draco and pulled him in for a kiss. At first Draco was too angry to respond, but the mouth moving against his lips was too tempting and he gave in to the moment.

 

 **20\. Acts of Desperation**

This was all wrong.

Draco forcefully pushed Potter off of him, breaking the kiss. "What the hell are we doing?" Draco felt bitter anger burn in his chest. "This is mental!" They were both mental to think that this was somewhere they should venture. Nothing good could ever come of any of this. Where was all this going? It couldn't possibly lead to a happy end.

Potter fell back and covered his face in frustration. Moments later, he stood and slung his rucksack over his shoulder. He barely glanced at Draco as he walked away, but the hurt look in Potter's eyes was enough to set Draco off. He jumped to his feet and chased after Potter yanking his sleeve until the other boy stopped in his tracks.

"What did you think would happen?" Draco shouted. "Did you think we'd be all happiness and puppies?"

Potter pursed his lips and frowned then yanked his arm from Draco's grip. Without a word he continued to walk. There was no way Draco was going after him. They weren't some feuding couple. This was totally insane.

Draco threw his arms up in the air.

"You could have warned me," he called out. Potter didn't stop. Draco kicked at the grass. Potter kept walking, his legs carrying him away. Potter was going to stop any second now. He had to. He couldn't leave Draco here in the middle of some muggle park.

"We need to go," Potter called back without turning around.

"Why should I kiss that stupid mouth of yours?" Draco shouted louder. Too frustrated to do anything else, Draco kicked the ground harder. That didn't seem to help vent any of his anger at all, but there was no way Draco was going after Potter. It was Potter's own fault. He was the one to blame for all of this.

Potter stopped in his tracks, but he didn't turn to face Draco. That was more like it. Draco rushed up, slowing to a trot when he reached Potter.

"We have to take the tube to the shop where the ring is." Potter didn't look up at Draco. He seemed to have found something very fascinating just at his feet. Draco stared down at the exact same patch of dirt and grass.

"What's the tube? I've never heard of it," Draco said. He resisted the urge to reach out. Potter's body language said 'keep off'.

"It's like a train, only underground and here it's called the subway," Potter said.

Draco took a step closer and Potter took a step away from him. Draco sighed and stood his ground.

"Then let's get this over with. The sooner you're out of my life, the better," Draco bit out and started to walk in the direction Potter had been going.

They walked in silence for a while. There wasn't anything to say. Trees gave way to concrete and then they were standing by the street again. Potter pulled out a sheet of paper and examined it closely.

"It was only a kiss," Potter finally muttered under his breath. "It didn't mean anything."

Draco rolled his eyes. "And almost a shag or did you forget the part where I made you squeak like a little girl?"

A couple walking pasted glanced their way. Draco pointedly glared at them and wished he had his wand so he could curse them. Luckily for them, he was wandless, and they continued on their way.

"Did you think we'd hold hands and your friends would be all accepting?" Draco couldn't let this go. Potter glanced around uncomfortably. "Come on. What did you think was going to happen?" He sneered in disgust and walked menacingly toward Potter, closing the distance between them. Potter stepped back until he bumped into a lamp post.

"Nothing," Potter said, lowering the paper he was holding. "I... I didn't think..."

Draco snarled. "That's your problem Potter. You never think. You're too stupid to think these things through." He wanted desperately to hit Potter's face and knock that pathetic expression off.

"That's not true," Potter tried to shout but it came out sounding more like a whimper. "I just..."

"You just what?" Draco hissed and leaned in close until their noses touched.

"I just never expected..."

Draco reached up and grasped the lamppost with one hand and with the other he grasped Potter's collar. "Never expected this?" he said as he lunged forward to kiss Potter's gasping mouth. Draco thrust his tongue in and tilted his body so that he could rub up against Potter. He slid his arm down the post and wrapped it around Potter's waist, pulling him in closer. Within seconds Potter's arms were around Draco. He slid one hand in Draco's hair and held on tightly as he deepened the kiss.

When they finally broke for air, Potter's cheeks were flushed a deep pink.

"No, I didn't expect that," Potter muttered.

Draco pushed away from Potter, relishing the stunned look on Potter's face. He yanked the paper from his hand and barely glanced at it before handing it back.

"Did you forget to expect the unexpected with me, Potter?" Draco smirked, thoroughly savouring the moment.

"Can't you stop that?" Potter barked. His eyes flashed with frustration.

"Stop what? Snogging you?"

"No." Potter took a deep breath. "Can't you call me Harry?"

"You're kidding, right?" Draco reached up and smoothed Potter's unruly hair. He felt a thrill course through him. Potter's hair just bounced right back to its original messiness. Draco brushed the scar with his fingertips, and stared into Potter's pleading eyes.

Potter made no move to stop Draco's touch. He leaned in closer.

"Tell you what, after you shag me, I'll call you something other than Potter," Draco whispered into Potter's ear. Potter jumped back, startled, his eyes as wide as dinner plates. Draco couldn't help but snicker at the reaction.

"You... you," Potter gulped. "You'd let me do that?" The moment was just too perfect to pass up. The words were there on the tip of his tongue, and the look in Potter's eyes was priceless.

Draco pushed Potter away. "Are you daft? Of course I wouldn't."

 

 **21\. Metro**

The train car swayed violently left to right. Draco gripped the pole tightly. Potter was right about the tube being nothing like Hogwarts express. The train was filthy and full of disgusting smells. Draco had chosen to stand rather than to sit beside some filthy muggle. This was the longest he'd ever had to stand near any of them. They were queer folk. Draco couldn't fathom doing things the hard way. Yet muggles did everything the hard way. He definitely preferred to do thing the wizard way. Like travel. Muggles drove around in those smelly autos. It seemed so idiotic to use such crude forms of transport.

Draco wished he had a broom right at the moment. He desperately wanted to ride atop one. He missed the freedom of whipping around his family estate, dive bombing the house elves and teasing his mum that he was going to crash. She'd hated that trick, but she'd laughed almost every time. The thoughts of his mum made Draco's stomach clench.

Potter stood beside him, leaning casually against the pole. Potter had told him it was made of some sort of metal that the muggles melted into different shapes. The things muggles did to get by. Draco shook his head with distaste.

Though Potter stared intently at the dirty floor, Draco wasn't having any of that. This was an opportunity to observe muggle behaviour.

He scanned the train car with a permanent sneer on his lips as he watched the muggles shuffle in and shuffle out at each stop. They all seemed very tired or grouchy and none of them looked at anybody else. Potter yanked at Draco's arm.

"Stop looking at people," he hissed into Draco's ear. "It's best to keep your eyes to yourself."

"Why? Are they going to curse me?" Draco asked, not bothering to whisper.

"Don't be daft. People just don't like being stared at." Potter lifted his hand but changed his mind and lowered it. Draco was unsure what Potter had intended to do. He smirked and grasped Potter's warm hand in his, sticking his nose in the air, daring anybody to say something. When nobody did, Draco tightened his grip on Potter's hand. His stomach fluttered at the feel of Potter's hand tightening in response. He smirked triumphantly at Potter and nudged him with his thigh.

"They hold hands," he said. "I've seen them hold hands."

"They do a lot of things," Potter muttered under his breath, as he surreptitiously glanced around at the other passengers. Potter was entirely too preoccupied with what others thought.

"How did you ever survive living with muggles? They're pushy, rude, obnoxious, and smell really foul," Draco said just as a group of young boys pushed their way onto the train and planted themselves right across from them. They looked about the same age as Harry and Draco. They all wore what Draco had come to realise was typical muggle teen fashion: jeans, t-shirts, jackets and various other casual clothes. They were all dressed very similarly. Two of the boys wore some sort of cap that Draco had never seen other teens wear. Draco looked down his nose at them and then went back to staring at a woman who sat a few seats down. She had come onto the train a few stops earlier with a book in her face and had barely glanced up to look as she'd sat down in her seat. The book had a cover on it with some shirtless bloke in tight pants. He was holding a woman in his arms and her great mane of black hair trailed to the edge of the cover.

"What is that?" Draco asked, slapping Potter on his chest and pointing to the book.

Potter jumped a little and looked to where Draco had motioned.

"It's called a romance novel," Potter whispered. "It's fiction. A lot of women read it for entertainment."

Draco stared at the book. The muggle never looked up. She turned the page and her eyes went wide. He sneered. "I hate motionless pictures. It's not right," he announced.

"Great," Potter muttered absently. The train screeched to a halt and Draco fell forward right into Potter. He could have stopped it but he was enjoying the look of annoyance on Potter's face every time he fell into him.

"So sorry, Potter," Draco chuckled. Loud coughing noises drew Draco's attention to the boys that had gotten on a few stops before. There were five of them. Three had remained seated and two were now standing. One of them sneered at Draco. In response, Draco curled his lips in disgust. Potter yanked on his sleeve to gain his attention. When Draco turned to face him, Potter shook his head and signaled with his eyes to stop staring, but Draco couldn't help it. He was just too curious.

He made eye contact with one of the boys that sat closest to them. The boy he'd chosen had short dark hair with thick bushy brows and a short stout body.

"What are you staring at, fag?" the muggle snarled at Draco.

Draco curled his lips in a snarl. They looked so normal but they weren't wizards. He almost felt sorry for them. Draco hadn't been able to do magic because of his circumstances and it was driving him mad. He itched to snatch Potter's wand from where it was hidden and point it right into these muggles stupid faces.

Potter pulled on Draco's arm urgently. "Stop that. You'll get us killed, or worse, beaten up."

"What I wouldn't give to just be able to say something, just once," Draco snarled. "Evenesco," he whispered.

Potter managed to pull Draco away from the group of boys and push him into a window seat. He flopped down beside Draco, crowding him against the train car wall. "Stop that! It's not funny. We can't play around like this."

"Don't be an idiot. I'm wandless, remember," Draco raised his eyebrows in amusement and chuckled. He glanced up to see that the group of boys had gotten brave. They were approaching. "Heads up, Potter," Draco said as he crossed his arms.

Potter spun round to face the boys. To his credit, Potter remained seated even as one of the boys shoved his face right into Potter's face.

"Hey four-eyes, do you have a problem with me and my friends?" he snapped.

Potter shook his head. "No."

Two of the boys had moved behind them and were leaning in menacingly.

"Better watch out," Draco drawled. "He'll petrify you." The boys all laughed.

Potter glared angrily at Draco. The train car came to a halt. Potter grabbed Draco's hand and jumped up, pulling him along with him. The boy closest to them fell back as Potter pushed him down and ran to the doors that were sliding open.

"This is our stop!" Potter shouted and ran. He pulled Draco out of the train and onto the platform in time for the doors to slam shut behind them, leaving the irate boys on the car. They shouted and cussed at them as the train pulled away.

Potter smacked Draco on the shoulder. "That's the last time I take you on a tube ride."

 

 **22\. Sweet**

Potter rattled the metal gate for the tenth time. They had finally managed to find the shop they were looking for, only to discover that it was closed. It was late by the time they arrived and the sign on the door said that it would be open again the next day at ten AM.

Draco leaned casually against the metal gate that Potter clung to. He hadn't bothered to point out the obviousness of his futility. Potter looked so furious. It was almost amusing to watch. Draco jumped back when Potter kicked the gate viciously.

"Fuck this," Potter ground out in frustration. He kicked the gate several more times and gripped it in both hands to shake it. It wasn't like Potter to get so angry and violent, but then so much was at stake. How long would it be before somebody else found them? How long would his friends be able to keep others at bay? What if the ring wasn't even here? That was a possibility that Draco wasn't willing to bring up, for fear that Potter would use him for a kicking post.

"We'll have to come back tomorrow," Draco pointed to the sign that listed the hours of operation.

Potter glared at him, but didn't move. He suddenly looked exhausted.

"We'll just have to find someplace to sleep for the night and then tomorrow we'll be here bright and early for when the doors open," Draco suggested helpfully. He was trying very hard not to tease Potter about his tantrum. Honestly, it was as though Potter expected the whole world to be waiting for him to make a move.

"I haven't got enough money to buy us a place to sleep," he muttered. Potter's whole body sagged and he leaned heavily against the gate.

"We could always pinch it," Draco made the most obvious suggestion that he knew would never even have occur to Potter. "You have your wand," he added defensively when Potter glared at him as though he wanted to burn a hole right through Draco with his stare alone.

"We can't," Potter shook his head and turned to lean against the gate. "We'd better find someplace to sleep."

"Right," Draco didn't even bother to ask why they couldn't just take what they came for. It was supposedly right behind that gate and those doors. The building was just bricks and glass. How hard could it be? "Fine then, let's go sleep in the gutter like common rats," Draco said sharply. He wasn't pleased in the least bit with Potter's stupid plan.

Potter pushed off from the gate and started to walk left. It was as good a direction as any. Draco rolled his eyes and followed. The dark street was lined with various shops that sold one thing or another. Almost all of them had lights in the window displays, if they had window displays. Not one sold wands or magical items of any kind. Draco would give anything to be in Diagon Alley right now, staring into Quality Quidditch Supplies, checking out the latest broom model. All these shops were boring. Muggles were boring.

He crossed his arms and walked beside Potter. They passed a few shops that were still open for business at this late hour, but most of those were selling food or beverages, and other sundry items. They were all very well lit. The scents that assaulted Draco from each shop as they passed were foul. Potter must have noticed Draco's look of disgust. He pointed to one of the shops ahead of them.

"That's a coffee shop. They serve some sweets. If you want I could buy you something," Potter offered.

"No thank you. It smells... disgusting." Somebody rushed past them and knocked Draco's shoulder. He couldn't even be bothered to shout at the obnoxious git. It seemed that all muggles were that rude.

Potter came to a dead stop and hungrily eyed the interior of the coffee shop. "Fine then, you wait out here while I get something. I'm hungry and I need some coffee to keep awake." With those words Potter pushed the glass door of the shop open and left Draco in the street. Draco didn't hesitate for a second. There was no way he was staying out here to be left to the mercy of pushy muggles.

He sauntered up behind Potter and pressed up against him. "On second thought, maybe something sweet could be just what's needed." Potter barely acknowledged him as they slipped in behind the last person in a long lineup. There were quite a few muggles sitting at small, round tables. Draco ignored them all and surreptitiously copped a squeeze of Potter's left arse cheek. He grinned with delight when Potter jumped in the air and almost yelped.

"Stop that," Potter spun and slapped Draco's offending hand. He shot Potter an innocent stare. The lineup moved a lot more quickly than Draco had thought it would. Before they knew it, they were at the counter and Potter ordered two coffees and Draco had chosen a cinnamon caramel bun. Potter ordered an apple turnover. They paid and sat down at a table as far from other patrons as possible.

"Sip it slowly, it's bound to be very hot," Potter warned as Draco sniffed the steam rising from the mug he'd set down in front of himself. It smelled foul, but he did need something to warm his insides, and his stomach growled hungrily.

He picked up the sticky bun and gingerly took a bite out of it. The caramel was delicious and within moments Draco had wolfed it down.

When he looked up from licking the sticky caramel from his fingers, Potter was staring at him, eyes wide and mouth open. Draco smirked and sucked on his thumb suggestively.

"Yummy," he purred.

Potter gulped. "I could get you another," he offered.

"No thank you." Draco drawled. He watched as Potter blushed and took a bite of his own sweet. White icing clung to Potter's upper lip, and crumbs fell everywhere. Draco shook his head with amusement. Potter was hopeless, but at least he was gorgeous.

 

 **23\. Club**

They stayed in the coffee shop until it closed and the muggle behind the counter kicked them out. By then, Potter had bought Draco two more sweets and a cup of very nice tea. Potter had ended up drinking both coffees himself.

Now they were wandering the streets in circles. Muggles never seemed to sleep. They were everywhere, although they didn't seem as rushed as they had been during the day. They walked mostly in pairs or groups down the streets, flailing their arms and talking loudly as if what they were saying must be heard by all. Draco completely ignored them. He was much too busy studying Potter.

They stopped in front of a building that had loud music coming from it. A lineup of people stood by an entrance. Potter grabbed Draco's arm and pulled them into the line. He reached up and mussed Draco's hair. He didn't have to bother with his own, since Potter's hair was a mess no matter what he did with it.

"Just act as though we belong here," Potter whispered. He leaned casually against the brick wall. Draco tucked his hands in his pockets and sigh heavily. They weren't dressed any differently than any of the muggles in line, so it was easy enough to pretend to be a part of this crowd. Did Potter really feel they didn't blend in well enough?

Before he knew it they were paying ten dollars each to enter the building. It was noisy, with bright flashing lights and muggles were everywhere.

"This is so much better than walking the streets," Draco bit out, injecting as much sarcasm into his words as he could. The music was horrible and much too loud. Draco cringed as Potter dragged them into a dark corner.

"We can stay in here for the night," Potter shouted into his ear. Draco cringed again.

Draco couldn't help but goggle at him. "Why would we want to do that?"

Potter spun him around and pointed. "We can get something to drink over there. It's called a bar." He turned him again. "See, over there is a toilet." Sure enough, there was a door with markings that seemed to indicate a men's loo. Potter turned him again and pointed at sofas and low tables. They were all full of muggles. "There's even someplace comfortable to sit," he added with a triumphant grin. "I've never been to one of these clubs, but I've heard about them. There's even dancing if you like and this one says it's open all night until dawn."

Draco wanted to rush out, but Potter did have a point. As annoying and obnoxious as the place was, it had been much cheaper than a motel and it did have all those things. He shrugged and headed for the men's toilet. Potter grabbed at his shirt.

"Where are you going?" Potter asked anxiously. His eyes were wide and his grip on Draco's shirt was too tight for Draco to break free.

"To the toilet, Potter. Do you want to help?" Draco snickered.

Potter pushed him forward and followed Draco. Luckily, there wasn't anybody else in the toilet. It didn't surprise Draco at all that it was disgusting. There were two stalls, so they each took one. He did what he needed to do quickly, and when Draco came out from his stall, he found Potter leaning against the wet counter with his arms crossed. There were two muggles staring intently at Potter who was staring just as hard back.

One of the muggles pushed past Draco to get to the stall he'd just vacated. Draco turned and smirked at Potter.

They went back out to the noise and sauntered up to the bar. Once he had the bartender's attention, Potter ordered them some cold drinks. Draco wasn't sure what it was, but it was sweet and sugary.

They found a spot near the dance floor and leaned against the wall shoulder to shoulder. Draco watched as muggles writhed like somebody had jinxed their bodies. He sipped his drink slowly and laughed at the hideousness of it. At one point he even thanked Potter for making such a brilliant find.

The music was atrociously loud and it was a wonder all muggles who came here didn't leave with their ears bleeding. There was no point in talking. Carrying on a conversation in this place was impossible. That suited Draco just fine since it meant that he wouldn't have to talk to Potter. It wasn't that he hated to talk to Potter; Draco just wasn't in the mood for conversation.

Potter seemed to be enjoying himself. Occasionally he would sway his body to the music as though it were enticing him to join the other dancers. Draco nudged Potter's shoulder.

"You should go out there," he indicated the dance floor with a nod of his head.

"I really love this song," Potter said sheepishly. Draco wasn't sure which song Potter was referring to. He could barely distinguish one from the next. To his ears, it all sounded the same.

He nodded at the floor again. "Go on," he yanked the rucksack from Potter's back. "I'll watch this for you." This was going to be hilarious. Watching Harry Potter dance could prove to be a most amusing way to pass the time.

Potter hesitantly took a step toward the dance floor. It was only a few feet from where they stood. Draco encouraged him and snickered behind his mouth as he watched a wide-eyed, terrified Potter slowly inch his way into the crowd of dancers. The flashing lights danced on his skin and reflected off his glasses. It took a moment, but Potter finally started to sway back and forth. He truly had no rhythm in him because none of his motions matched the beat of the song, but the more he got into it, the happier he looked. Draco laughed when Potter spun and smacked right into a muggle. The girl said something to Potter then went back to thrashing about.

Potter threw himself into the music. He flung his arms in the air and thrashed his body about, his head bopping up and down. Draco almost fell over with laughter. Potter looked as though he were having some sort of seizure.

It was going to be a very interesting night.

 

 **24\. Phantom**

Potter seemed to have an endless source of energy. After dancing (if you could call what Potter was doing that) for almost an hour, Potter finally bounced over to where Draco stood and gulped his own drink down. Potter was all sweaty and his usually messy hair was even wilder than before. His glasses had managed to stay on his nose, though.

"You should join me," Potter shouted, panting and clutching at his sides.

Draco lifted the rucksack. "I don't fancy dancing with this strapped to my back," he quipped. He lowered it and placed it on the floor between his feet.

Potter nodded and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. "Did I make a total fool of myself?" he asked in Draco's ear.

"Not a total fool," Draco answered. His response didn't have the impact he'd hoped for since Potter was grinning ear to ear. It was intolerable that he should be so dementedly happy. It was even more intolerable that Draco should be happy that Potter was happy. The sparkle in Harry's eyes and the rosy tint in his cheeks were euphoric and appeared to be catching. There was no way Draco could deny it.

He reached out and gripped Potter's shoulder to gain his attention, and then leaned in to kiss him soundly on the mouth. Potter's eyes went wide.

"What was that for?" he shouted.

Draco shrugged and smirked. It was odd to feel this way about anybody. He was so unaccustomed to this feeling in his chest, yet there it was, a tingling sensation -- and not only in his chest, but all through his body. Draco had never felt this way about anybody else before in his life. It happened every time he touched Potter or even looked in Potter's direction, and it was growing with time. It had only been a few days and Draco knew he shouldn't be doing this, knew he shouldn't be thinking let alone feeling this way, but there was nothing to be done about it.

He leaned in and kissed Potter again, this time letting his tongue slide out to lick at Potter's red lips. Potter grabbed at him and pulled him closer. They fell against the wall together, Potter's tongue thrusting deep into Draco's mouth. Draco slipped his own arms around Potter's broad shoulders, relishing the closeness. He didn't care that Potter was all sweaty. He pushed his hand through Potter's damp hair, twirling it in his fingers.

They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, barely noticing anything else but each other. Nobody bothered them. It was perfect. The lights flashed and the music vibrated through their bodies. Draco rubbed up against Potter, pushing hard and moaning at the matching hardness that pressed against Draco's thigh. He wanted to plunge his hand down Potter's jeans right there.

Potter grinned like a fool. He pulled his t-shirt up to expose his bare belly and fanned himself with it.

Suddenly, Draco had the distinct impression that they were being watched, but when he glanced around, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. He needed to be careful, they needed to be careful. After that Death Eater incident they couldn't afford to be caught off guard, and it had been when they had just shared their first moment of bliss that it had happened. It would be just Draco's luck for something else to happen right now. He should have been thinking more clearly, but Potter had obviously bewitched him.

Potter grasped the hem of Draco's t-shirt and pulled him into a dark corner. Draco only barely managed to snatch up the rucksack and bring it along with them. Was something wrong with Potter? He seemed much too giddy and careless.

Draco was about to point out that perhaps they should be a little more careful when Potter yanked him down by the neck and soundly kissed Draco until his knees almost gave in. It was all he could do to stay upright. Draco acquiesced and kissed Potter back, reaching between them to rub at the bulge in Potter's jeans. Potter slung his arms over Draco's shoulders and began to sway his hips in a lascivious manner of the sort he'd never thought Potter capable of.

"Has somebody given you some sort of love potion?" Draco joked, once Potter let him up for air. Something caught Draco's eyes just over Potter's shoulder. His heart froze and his body went completely still. A dark, cloaked figure stood right across from them on the other side of the dance floor. The lights flashed and Draco caught a glimpse of a very distinctive hooked nose. Draco's mouth went dry.

"What is it?" Potter shouted.

Draco was speechless. He dropped his hands, his eyes going wide when Snape's mouth curled into a snarl. With each flash of light, Snape seemed to get closer to them. His face was pinched in anger, and his eyes blazed with rage. By the time Snape was in the middle of the dance floor, Draco's heart was pounding in his chest. Potter had him pinned to the wall and the fool hadn't turned round yet.

Draco finally gathered the courage to point at the approaching figure. He slammed his eyes shut too terrified by the look of complete rage on Snape's face.

Potter finally spun around to look. Draco braved a peek, but Snape was gone. He had vanished. Draco blinked and looked hard. There were only muggles on the dance floor now. They'd moved to fill in the space that Snape had once occupied.

"What is it?" Potter shouted, looking all around. "What did you see?" he turned back to Draco, his eyes sparkled unnaturally in the strobe lighting.

Draco's eyes went wide. A love potion? That's just what he'd asked of Potter right before he'd seen Snape and Snape was an expert at brewing all potions.

He pushed past Potter, leaving the rucksack behind. He couldn't stay here any longer. Draco rushed headlong into the crowd, desperate to escape Potter's presence. If Snape had somehow managed to slip Potter a love potion and this had all just been a great big joke on Draco, he wasn't going to have any more part in any of it.

Just as Draco reached the exit door, he heard Potter shout his name. Draco turned to find Potter running after him, practically shoving muggles aside to get to him. Potter never shoved anybody.

Draco finally crashed through the door out into the night. He gulped at the crisp fresh air. Potter was right behind him, rushing to his side, calling his name out.

"Stop, Draco," Potter said as he grasped Draco's sleeve, forcing Draco to halt his escape.

He wanted to fight and shout and cry at the unfairness of it all.

 

 **25\. The ring**

"I'm not under the influence of a love potion," Potter insisted for the tenth time, throwing his arms in the air with exasperation.

"You don't know that," Draco challenged. "Even if you were, you'd never be able to tell. He was there, Potter. I saw Snape."

Draco rushed down the dark street, not even sure where he was going. He just knew he had to get as far from that place as possible. If Snape had somehow managed to slip Potter some love potion, none of it mattered. Snape had seen them. He must have seen them. He must have seen him snog Potter in that club. Draco recalled the look of anger and disgust on Snape's face. There was no telling what Snape would do next.

"Why would he do that?" Potter shouted as he rushed along side Draco. "What possible reason could Snape...?" Potter nearly spat as he said the name, "...have to slip me a love potion?"

Draco stopped dead in his tracks. Potter ground to a halt a few feet in front of him.

"Because he wanted to be sure you'd help me on my quest," he stamped his foot on the ground in frustration. "I was a bloody fool!"

Potter bore down on him and clutched Draco's arms, shaking him roughly. "Nobody slipped me a love potion, Malfoy." He forced Draco to look into his eyes.

Why was he even bothering to run? Snape could get at him no matter where he went. Why hadn't Snape gone after the gem himself? This was stupid. All of this was so stupid. Why would he send Draco on such an important mission? There were a million questions exploding in his brain and nowhere to go for the answers.

Draco broke from Potter's grip and stormed off. "Get away from me."

"You're such a spoilt brat!" Potter shouted after him.

Draco ignored him. The sky had already started to change colour. The stars were blinking out one by one as it brightened with the coming of the sun.

"It's not all about you!" Potter shouted. Draco stopped in his tracks, and spun around, glaring at Potter.

"No, Potter," he spat. "It's always been all about you," he rushed at him and pushed Potter roughly.

Potter reached for him, but Draco took a step back. He reached out again and Draco jumped away to avoid being touched.

Potter gave up and stood with his shoulders slumped. "This is mental." They stood in silence as the world around them came to life. The sky turned from deep blue to oranges and pale blues.

Potter kicked at the ground, tucking his hands in his pockets. "Please, Malfoy," he stepped closer. This time Draco stood his ground sticking his nose in the air. "I swear it. I'm not under the influence of a love potion."

"Oh, very convincing, Potter," Draco growled sarcastically. "Much more convincing then the last ten times you said it." He curled his lip in distaste.

"Let's go to the shop and wait for it to open. We can get the ring and this will all be over with," Potter urged. Draco looked away from the hurt expression in his eyes.

"Fine," Draco turned and walked away but stopped when he realised that he was completely turned around and had no clue where they were. Potter pointed down the street toward the opposite direction from the one Draco had chosen.

"It's that way," Potter said as he ducked his head and peered through his tousled fringe.

Draco snarled and spun to walk in the direction Potter had indicated, taking care not to touch Potter in any way.

Luckily they didn't have much longer to wait. The shop opened earlier than the sign had posted. Draco followed Potter in and stayed a safe distance away from him, pretending to examine the display cases. It was a brightly lit store with many display cases filled with rings and various other jewellery. Potter moved to one particular display case that held mostly jewellery for special occasions. Draco fell in beside, staring down at the rings. It took Potter no time at all to identify the one they were searching for.

"Could I have a look at this one?" Potter asked politely, pointing into the display case at a particularly hideous ring.

The shop clerk, a middle-aged muggle with a bald spot on the top of his head, pulled out the white velvet tray that Potter had indicated.

"That's a lovely setting," the clerk said as he set the tray down on the glass case. He nudged the rings on the display around with one finger, straightening them so that each stone faced Potter. They all sparkled in the bright lights of the shop. Each ring was set with different diamonds. The Black Star wasn't black at all.

The clerk eyed them both with suspicion. "Is this a gift for your mother?"

Both Potter and Draco said no at the same time.

"It's for him," Potter suddenly blurted, pointing a finger at Draco. It was true in a way.

"Oh," the man said warily. It was starting to look as if getting the ring from this  
muggle wouldn't be an easy task. Draco only wished he could snatch up Potter's wand and petrify the salesman so they could get this over with as quickly as possible. He was tired of all the stumbling blocks they'd already encountered on this unscheduled journey.

"He'll need to see if it fits," Potter added with a friendly grin. He held up a roll of bills. "I have more than enough money to buy it." Where had Potter suddenly gotten so much money?

The salesclerk's attitude changed as soon as he saw the money. He gently pulled the ring from its home and handed it to Potter who nervously held it out for Draco to take. He wasn't putting that on. Was Potter mental? Who knew what would happen if he slipped a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul on his finger.

Potter encouraged Draco to take the ring. "Come on, try it on," he said urgently.

Draco took a step closer and reached for the ring. His heart pounded in his chest. Why him? Why did it have to be him?

He took the ring from Potter, but before he could slip it on his finger there was a loud popping sound behind him. Somebody grabbed him from behind and Potter screamed, pulling his wand out. Draco slammed his eyes shut as his stomach lurched. When he finally opened them he was staring at a vast forest. The shop was gone. Potter was gone.

Draco spun round and came face to face with Snape.

 

 **26\. Illusion**

To say that he'd just received the biggest shock of his life was an understatement. He was back in the forest, though he couldn't be sure it was the same exact forest that he'd been in the last time he'd talked to Professor Snape. The ring was snatched from his fingers. He spun round in a circle, desperately wishing that he were anywhere but here. It didn't help. There was no denying it, Snape had apparated the two of them out of that muggle shop.

"You slimy little..." Draco rushed at Snape, arms out, but the greasy bastard side-stepped him and Draco fell to his knees into the dry dirt. On his hands and knees, Draco glared up at Snape who held the ring up to examine it closely. To Draco surprise, there was no triumphant look in Snape's eyes.

Snape crossed his arms, his black robes fluttering in the wind. He took a step forward and slammed his foot down right in front of Draco, forcing him to look way up just to be able to see Snape's face. At this angle, Snape's nose looked enormous. Draco sat back on his legs.

"Did you enjoy your little... outing?" Snape drawled coolly.

Draco pushed himself up off the ground and brushed his robes off, sending great clouds of dust everywhere. They were filthy and he wrinkled his noise at the messiness.

"As a matter of fact, it was positively horrendous," he snarled, his eyes locked with Snape's, resisting the urge to glance down at the ring Snape still held between his thumb and finger. There was a long pause and then Snape's arm shot out. He held up another ring. It was Draco's family ring. After a moment of hesitation, Draco snatched it up and slipped it on his finger.

"Glad to have you back, Draco," said Snape.

"It's wonderful to be back," Draco replied. This time he couldn't resist the urge. He glanced down at the ring without tilting his head.

"You did well, Draco," said Snape.

"Where is my mum?" Draco asked, crossing his own arms. He pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes. He thought he saw a brief glimpse of shock in Snape's eyes, but he had to have imagined it because in the next moment Snape's expression was perfectly calm.

"We have work to do, first," he said as he turned away. Draco stormed around Snape and glared straight into his eyes.

"So then after this work, you'll take me home, to mum," Draco meant for it to sound more like a demand, but instead he sounded unsure, even to his own ears.

Snape scrunched up his face, his gaze travelling from Draco's eyes to the ground.

"Of course," Snape said impatiently.

Draco's heart pounded in his chest. Potter had lied to him. He'd said his mum had been killed, but here was Snape, telling him he'd take Draco home to mum as soon as they were done. The next time Draco saw Potter, he wasn't going to snog him. He had something else in mind for that bastard, and it didn't involve any sort of gentle touching. It involved touching of a much violent nature.

"Yes, well," Snape cleared his throat and turned from Draco. "I need some room." He walked away, his dark robes swaying from side-to-side. He slid his wand from where it was tucked away, and lifted it in the air.

Draco followed as Snape moved to the center of a clearing. He watched as Snape set the ring down in the middle of the clearing and waved his wand high in the air. He said not one word. Tendrils of black smoke rose from the tip of his wand. It had to be some sort of Dark Arts spell that Snape was weaving. Draco knew that Snape could easily perform magic without ever uttering one word. What was he up to? Draco's heart sped up in anticipation of watching Snape perform magic. He'd truly missed his own world.

Snape waved his wand with a wild flourish and flicked it at the ring. Was he sending it to the Dark Lord? Draco felt the sudden urge to move forward and stop this, but a voice in his head held him back. Whispers from the woods filled Draco's ears. He looked everywhere but saw nothing. The wind began to pick up, sending leaves and dirt swirling into miniature whirlwinds. They spun round Snape, growing in size then dissipating when Snape waved his wand at them.

Snape's robes snapped in the gathering breeze. Draco shielded his eyes with his hands and watched as the ring began to glow.

"Do you know what this is?" Snape shouted over the wind. Snape's greasy hair flew into his eyes and he shook his head to flick it out of the way.

"Yes," Draco shouted over the wind. It was beginning to howl as if a great beast was bearing down on them.

"It's not the only one." Snape said as he brought his wand down in a great motion. There was a dazzling explosion.

Draco's hands went up to cover his face from the brightness of the explosion. A foul smell filled the air, and black smoke rose from where the ring had been. There was dead silence around them, broken only by the distant hoot of an owl.

Snape inhaled a sharp breath and adjusted his collar.

"What did you do?" Draco demanded. It seemed as if everybody around him was going to lie to him and use him. There was no way Draco was walking away this time without knowing the real reasons behind everything that had happened to.

"I destroyed it," Snape's face contorted in a vicious snarl. "Now you can go home." Snape didn't move. He stood with his wand lowered and his eyes glazed.

"Why didn't you go find it for yourself?" Draco could barely say it loud enough, he was so furious. All of this had been so Snape could destroy a piece of the Dark Lord's soul. Everything Draco had gone through -- the time trapped in the muggle world and what had happened between him and Potter -- and it just ends like this.

"I needed to distract You-Know-Who while you retrieved the gem," Snape said. Snape squared his shoulders and cast his gaze down to stare at his wand. "Go home, Draco." Snape turned away. "Or maybe it's Potter you wish to go to."

And with a pop, Snape was gone. Draco hadn't even a chance to ask if Potter had been under the influence of a love potion, but Draco knew the answer to that. It was only too obvious.

 

 **27\. Home Again**

The manor was silent and dark. The front doors stood askew, as though some great beast had smashed through them. The left door hung from a single hinge and the right one barely had enough wood on it to be called a door. Most of the rooms were completely obliterated. The kitchens were all rubble, and almost the entire upper levels were gone.

Draco stood and stared up at the devastation that was once Malfoy Manor. His ancestral home, his legacy which was once so grand, looked barely liveable. There was nobody here. He'd searched everywhere. He hadn't found anybody; not even a house elf remained. The coating of dust on what furniture had survived told him that it had to have been some time since anyone had set foot in the stone abode.

He'd somehow managed to make it back here undetected. If anybody were looking for him, they surely would have found him by now. He'd been at the manor for over three weeks, walking aimlessly around the grounds of what was left of his home.

He'd found the tombstone just a few days after he'd returned. It was plain, with nothing but his mother's name and her birth date along with the date when she'd died crudely chiselled into the marble slab. Most days he went there for at least an hour just to talk to her. He'd been amazed that somebody had actually buried her on Malfoy soil, and had marked her grave. He'd shed no tears. There were no tears to shed. There was only a numbness that seemed to grow as each day passed.

Draco supposed the Malfoy name was most likely hated throughout the wizarding world. They hadn't been a favourite to begin with. Now, after what Snape had done, not just to Dumbledore but most recently having snatched the Black Star from the great Harry Potter's grasp, Draco was sure he would soon be sharing a cell in Azkaban with his father.

Yet nobody came. Draco walked the empty halls, occasionally slipping on a cloak to make his way into the nearby town for the basic supplies. He hid easily and never ran into anybody who might want to make a name for themselves with the capture of a notorious criminal. He'd been lucky so far. Draco knew it was only a matter of time before somebody recognised him.

Draco set his purchases down on the only table that hadn't been broken. The table stood in the main room on the first floor of the manor. The room was enormous and had once served as both a dining area and, on some occasions, a ballroom. The heavy black drapes that where once immaculate now hung in tatters. Shreds of cloth lay scattered on the dusty floor. Draco hadn't bothered to clean up any of the mess. He mostly occupied one room, his own bedroom on the second floor. It was one of the rooms that had managed to make it through the devastation unscathed.

Almost all of his garments had survived, though his school things were still at Hogwarts. Luckily he had extras of everything, even a wand. It had been a habit of his mother's to always be prepared for every eventuality, including the loss of a wand.

Today Draco had actually risked purchasing a copy of the Daily Prophet. He needed to know what was happening out there. Snape had made no contact with him since he'd deserted Draco in that forest.

Draco stepped around a dark stain on what was once a deep green carpet. It was now mostly brown from dirt and possibly something else. He tried not to wonder what that something else could be. He told himself that it wasn't blood.

He pushed his hood back and turned to find a dark figure in the corner of the room. Draco's heart leapt in his chest. He hadn't bothered to reset the wards on the mansion. He wasn't even sure how to perform most of the spells that his parents had used to protect their home.

The figure stepped into a stream of sunlight that fell on the floor.

"It's me," said Potter. He wore wizard robes now, and what looked like a new pair of converse. Draco made note of every detail all at once. Potter's hair was its usual state of messy disarray, and he was nervously plucking at a thread on his sleeve that had come unravelled.

"I don't have the ring," Draco sneered and narrowed his eyes. Potter only nodded. He looked much too relaxed for somebody who was here to take Draco into custody.

Draco had left his wand up in his room. It was a foolish thing to do, but the last few weeks had been so calm that Draco had not even thought to take it with him when he'd left that morning. He'd not used it at all since he'd returned, too afraid that the magic would be detected. He'd hoped the manor would just be left abandoned by all.

"I'm not here for the ring," said Potter. He walked slowly toward Draco and stopped just a few feet away.

"Snape destroyed it," Draco muttered. At first, when he'd come home, he'd decided that no matter what, he wasn't going to tell Potter what had transpired, but now it seemed utterly pointless. Staring into those green eyes, Draco wished so many things had gone differently.

Draco turned away, shoulders slumped. He should have realised long ago that he'd been defeated even before he was born.

"Really?" Potter said much too casually. Draco turned to stare into Potter's brilliant green eyes. Potter should have been much more excited by this news, yet he didn't seem so at all.

"It seems I was everybody's dupe," Draco added. He exhaled sharply.

"No," Potter said as he reached out to place a hand on Draco's shoulder.

They both turned at the sound of crashing noise in the outer room. Potter stepped away from Draco and stared at the doorway.

"There you are," Granger called out. She stepped over a small pile of rubble and straightened her robes. "I thought Ron was mad when he told me where you were." Granger stopped in her tracks when she saw Draco standing just a few feet from Potter. Following closely behind her, was Weasley. He also wore dark robes and held his wand up, pointing it at Draco when he spotted him.

"We've brought reinforcements," Weasley practically snarled. His youngest sister, Ginny also entered the room. She held her wand up, though not as steadily as her brother. It was a veritable Gryffindor reunion. Outnumbered and outgunned.

"Harry!" Ginny shouted and rushed across the room to throw her arms round Potter's neck. "It's been so long."

Draco swore Weasley was gloating as his sister hugged Potter tightly and kissed his cheek.

 

 **28\. The Offer**

Nobody spoke and nobody moved. Draco refused to take his eyes off any of them. Potter had gently pushed Ginny Weasley off him and put distance between the two of them. His posture was stiff and his eyes flashed frustration, though Draco was sure none of his friends noticed. Weasley took a few steps closer, still holding his wand steady, pointed directly at Draco.

"Why are you all here?" Potter finally asked. He crossed his arms and Draco thought he heard a hint of anger in his tone. Potter paced away from his group of friends, who all stood on one side of the room. Draco stood across from them with his chin in the air.

"We thought you might need some backup," said the older Weasley. He made sure to snarl in Draco's direction, his beady little eyes narrowed.

"I told you when I left that I would be just fine," Potter sounded positively cross.

Granger stepped forward, a look of complete superiority on her disgusting little face.

"We're only trying to help," she said in her high-pitched, whiney voice. Draco curled his lip in distaste and turned to face Potter.

"I'd offer you all a cup of tea, but seeing as I no longer seem to have a house elf," he snarled in Granger's direction, and was pleased to see that his tone struck a cord with her, "And there is the fact that I only bought enough for one, I'll just asked you all to leave."

"We can't just leave him here," Granger said crossly. She pointed her wand at Draco, but her eyes were on Potter. "After what he did you can't do that, Harry. He must know where Snape is. We should... turn Malfoy in to the proper authorities."

Potter looked back and forth from Granger to Draco. "Do you know where Snape is?" he finally asked Draco.

"No," said Draco sharply. He shook his head and rolled his eyes, moving to pick up his parcels. Weasley advanced on him and pushed Draco back from the packages.

"Those could be something dangerous," exclaimed Weasley. He held his wand up, refusing to allow Draco to advance. They glared into each other's eyes, practically snarling like mad dogs.

"Right," Draco bit out, "Better check them for exploding items, Weasel," Draco snarled angrily.

Potter jumped between them, holding his arms up. "Stop that, you two." He might have been addressing them both, but he was looking directly at Weasley when he said it. "Put your wand away, Ron," Potter ordered. Nobody moved. The tension in the room was palpable.

"Get off my property," Draco shouted, glaring at Weasley, turning his look of disgust on Granger. "I don't appreciate Mudbloods trotting on Malfoy soil."

Weasley lunged at Draco, practically jumping over Potter to get to him. His arms were out and his hands were curved like talons, reaching out for Draco. Potter, thrown completely off guard at the suddenness of the movement, almost fell back into Draco.

"You bastard!" Weasley exploded, face red with anger. Held just out of reach by Granger and his sister, Weasley clawed at the air, helplessly. His face contorted with rage.

"Ron, stop it!" Potter shouted.

"When I tell the Ministry of Magic where you are, they'll haul you and your mum away to Azkaban prison and the three of you can be reunited." Weasley shouted so loudly it echoed through the empty room.

Potter pushed Weasley away from Draco and gripped his arms tightly, forcing Weasley to lower his wand. He shook Weasley like a disobedient pet until he was silent and had refocused his attention on Potter.

"Nobody is going to the Ministry of Magic," Potter said clearly and slowly, probably so somebody as dense as Weasley would understand.

Weasley goggled at Potter, stunned into silence.

"What? You've gone mad, Harry. He's wanted. We have to turn him in," Granger exclaimed. She tried to wedge herself between Potter and Weasley but Potter wasn't having any of that.

"No, we don't," Potter announced. "And I'm not going to." Potter released Weasley and stared at them, defiantly. "He's coming with us," he added.

There was dead silence for just a moment, and then all three of Potter's friends exploded into anger, waving their arms in the air and cursing. Potter warily backed up a few steps, keeping himself between Draco and his friends. He pushed his robes aside and reached into his pocket, pulling out a piece of parchment. Draco was stunned. He was close enough to Potter to see that it was the same parchment that Snape had given him.

"He helped me find a horcrux, and now it's been destroyed," Potter added as he held the parchment up. Draco wasn't sure how showing them the parchment would prove any of what Potter was saying.

Weasley looks as though he were going to explode again. Draco couldn't help but gloat. He had never looked forward to anything as much as he was looking forward to the looks on their faces when Potter told his friends why he wasn't going to turn the hated Draco Malfoy in.

"Harry," Granger said firmly. "This is folly. We can't take him with us." She stepped closer to Potter and looked into his eyes pleadingly. "He's a wanted criminal."

Draco curled his lips in a sneer. This was pathetic. Why wasn't Potter just breaking the news that would send them all at Draco's throat? It would speed things along much quicker. Draco thought to shout the status of his and Potter's newfound relationship, but then he would never have an opportunity to watch as they heard it all from Potter's own mouth.

Potter paced across the room, contemplating each of his friends. When he finally came to a halt, he stood in front of Draco.

Right at that moment, a snowy white owl glided into the room through the gaping hole in the ceiling and landed silently on Potter's outstretched arm. Potter stroked its breast affectionately, and plucked the envelope from the owl's leg.

"Thank you, Hedwig," Potter cooed. The owl gently pecked at Potter then leaned toward Draco.

"Malfoy stays," said Potter easily. "If the rest of you wish to leave, you're welcome to." He tore the letter open and as he read, he smiled triumphantly then held the letter out for Draco.

Draco took the note and read, too stunned to say anything. He gawked at Potter, and then when he noticed the anxious looks on his friends' faces he stuck his nose in the air.

"It says I'm excused from having to answer to any charges with the Ministry of Magic," he gloated.

Granger surged forward and snatched the letter from his hand. He took a few steps back and away so that he was right behind Potter. Granger and Weasley would have to knock Potter over to get to him. Draco watched as Potter's friends read the note. Potter's owl gently pecked at Draco's hair, much to Potter's delight. Draco glanced down as everybody was distracted, and surreptitiously ran his hand down Potter's back. Nothing had ever felt as triumphant as the feel of Potter leaning into his touch.

 

 **29\. Stay**

The grounds were overgrown with ivy and wild rosebushes. Draco stood by the open double-doors, staring out at the lush green scenery. Wild and overgrown like it now was, it looked uninviting. His mother would have been appalled at just how unkempt it had become. She'd taken great pride in her gardens.

They had all followed Potter out to the back of the manor so that he could let his owl free and watch as the bird glided about. Draco leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms. He watched as Weasley pulled on Potter's robe sleeve. From this distance he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could easily guess at the conversation. Weasley constantly stared daggers in Draco's direction. Granger stood to Potter's left, her own mouth shut so tightly that even from where he stood, Draco could see how white her lips were.

Potter had asked Draco to give them time to talk, but he desperately wanted to be down there, so he could hear every maligning word Weasley was no doubt spewing about Draco in Potter's ear. It must have been killing Weasley that Potter wasn't listening to him.

Draco started at the sound of snapping twigs to his left, but relaxed when he saw that it was only Weasley's little sister. She didn't hide her disgust in the least.

"Whatever it is that you've done to Harry, my brother and Hermione will uncover it," Weasley snapped.

Draco rolled his eyes and snarled, turning his attention back to the distant trio. He chuckled as he watched the other Weasley fling his arms in the air yet again in exasperation. Draco licked his lips and blew at a tuff of fringe that had fallen over his eyes.

It was pure bliss watching Potter defend him to his friends. Draco had tormented each one of them at every opportunity while in school. Now here they all were, on his family estate, being forced by Potter to accept Malfoy. Did Potter seriously think that they would all be best friends now? Still, it was amusing to watch as Weasley turned fifty shades of red and continually waved his arms in the air.

"You'll not get away with this," the Weasley beside him announced.

Draco waved her away, just as he would wave away a gnat buzzing in his ear, without taking his gaze from the scene that was playing out in his mother's garden.

"Ron will help Harry see reason. He'll make Harry realise what a great mistake he's making," she continued.

Draco barely acknowledged her. Weasley had just grabbed Potter by his arms and was shaking him. Draco chuckled and spared the girl beside him a sneer. This was too rich.

"Stop that!"

Draco turned and snarled at the Weasley girl. She was actually stamping her foot on the stone ground, her hands balled into fists.

"You're mental," Draco muttered then turned back to continue to watch as Granger screwed up her face and shot a warning glare at Draco. How he wished he had a wand at this very moment so that he could pull it out and petrify the annoying Weasley. Of course, it would be hard to decide which Weasley he'd choose to turn his wand on first.

"You're the one who's mental, Malfoy," Weasley retorted with another stamp of her little foot. "Just because You-Know-Who didn't mark you, doesn't mean we'll all be friends now."

"Ooh," Draco pretended to shudder. "Brilliant comeback, Weasley. Did you learn that particular skill from your brother?" Draco smirked and stepped away from her. Why couldn't she just leave him be? There was literally a forest for her to get lost in. Draco contemplated the notion of making her cry. It would be so easy.

"You're a nasty boy, Malfoy," she shouted, crossing her arms and glaring, though she looked more as if she needed to use a toilet.

Draco laughed out loud and pushed her away. She fell back against the stone wall arms flailing. Draco hadn't really pushed her very hard.

"Shut up!" she shouted, though Draco had barely spoken to her. "What did you do to Harry?"

Draco glared down at her and smiled wickedly when she backed away, a glimmer of fear in her dull eyes.

"I slipped him a little love potion and made sure he'd fall deeply and madly in love with me," he gloated.

Somebody grabbed him from behind and flung Draco aside. He smashed into the stone floor, just managing to throw out his arms to prevent his head from making contact with the hard ground.

"Get away from my sister, Malfoy," Weasley shouted.

Draco could see tears brimming in Ginny Weasley's eyes. The look of horror in her face was worth a few bruises. Potter crouched down beside Draco. He looked up into Potter's bright green eyes. Anger swirled in their depths, but it must not have been for Draco because Potter gently gripped Draco's arms and helped him to stand. He brushed at Draco's robes even though they hadn't been soiled. He was sure Potter was using it as an excuse to touch him.

Draco smirked, resisting the urge to touch Potter. He could play this game. He'd played games all his life. His mother had taught him most of these kinds of games.

"It's not true," Ginny Weasley sobbed. She covered her face with her hands and cried.

"What did you say to her?" Granger demanded. She looked really cross. Draco wanted to kiss Potter for turning what had started out as a mind-numbingly boring day into the best day in weeks.

"He said..." the crying girl stuttered between sobs. She took one look at Potter and saw how close he stood to Draco. Her eyes drifted down to Potter's hand which was gripping Draco's arm firmly. This sent her into more fits as she covered her face once again, bursting into even louder sobs.

"You're so pathetic. It was a joke, you silly girl," Draco snarled.

Potter suddenly realizing that he still had a grip on Draco's arm, released him and sighed.

"He was only joking," Potter insisted. Draco didn't know whether to be amused or amazed that Potter was taking his side without even knowing what had transpired.

"Yes, I was," Draco glanced at the older Weasley as he consoled his sobbing sister who was now sniffling. She lowered her hands. Tears streaked her puffy face.

"Well, it wasn't funny," she cried.

"I thought it was positively hilarious," said Draco. With those words, he turned on his heels and marched back into the manor.

 

 **30\. Go**

The main room looked even gloomier than it had earlier. Outside the sun was setting and the dwindling light cast long eerie shadows across the floor. Draco sat in his father's overstuffed chair by the massive fireplace. Potter and his merry band of Gryffindors had not followed him into the manor. They were all probably consoling the little crybaby Weasley.

Draco stared deep into the empty hearth. When he was very young, he used to like to sit at his father's feet, a roaring fire driving the chill away. His father would invite him to sit in his lap and tell Draco stories of his days at Hogwarts, vowing that not only would Draco one day go to Hogwarts, but that he'd be their most prestigious pupil. How wrong his father had been. It hurt to find out that his parents had been wrong about so many things.

Footfalls echoed through the room and Potter stepped around the great chair to stand and stare down at Draco.

"That was totally unnecessary," Potter said. He pulled his wand from his robe sleeve and pointed it at the hearth. "Incendio." With that one word, flames erupted in the cold depths.

"Where are they? Not causing trouble, I hope," Draco sneered up at Potter.

Potter tucked his wand back in his sleeve and stared into the flames.

"They left to take Ginny home," Potter muttered.

Draco stood and turned with a flourish, gestured at the chair. "I'm afraid this is the only seat in the room."

Potter eyed him warily then slowly sat down in the offered seat, his shoulders sagging.

"You didn't have to treat Ginny so poorly," he whispered, his gaze falling on Draco. Potter was watching him for a reaction. It was so obvious that he was checking for something, perhaps remorse. If that were the case, Potter would be looking for a very long time.

Draco leaned casually against the hearth and stared into the flames. "What do you want, Potter? Why are you still here?" He wanted to look into Potter's eyes, but instead he continued to stare into the fire, watching as the flames hungrily licked the charred stones.

"I want you to join me in the fight against Voldemort," Potter said after a long silence.

Draco turned his gaze on Potter, glaring. "For what purpose?" he curled his lips in disgust. "You seriously think you can take Voldemort down?"

Potter stared up at Draco, unblinking. He looked tired. His eyes reflected years beyond his age. What had he been up to in the few weeks since that day in New York? Draco knew Potter wouldn't sit still for very long. He had probably done many foolish things since that day on the turret. It was the burden of a hero.

Potter stood and reached for Draco's sleeve, his fingers curling around the fabric tightly.

"I sent that note to the Ministry so that you would be free to join me," Potter said.

"You mean join you and your merry Gryffindor clan," Draco snarled coolly.

Potter took a step closer to Draco, forcing him to step back. So this was Potter's plan, to coerce Draco into complying with Potter's wishes. There was nothing Potter could threaten him with to make him join his hopeless crusade.

"We're not all Gryffindor," he added.

Draco snorted. "Right, some of you are Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. How wonderful." He turned his gaze back to the flames. "And they all have reasons to hate me."

"I don't care," Potter said firmly.

Draco inhaled a deep breath and crossed his arms. "Nothing good ever came from Slytherin house, remember?" He glared into Potter's eyes, satisfied when he caught a glimpse of remorse.

"Don't you want revenge?" Potter asked as he stepped closer. This time Draco didn't move. He stood his ground and didn't flinch when he felt the gentle brush of Potter's fingers on his own hand.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" Draco whispered.

Potter turned Draco so they were face-to-face. He reached up and brushed at a loose strand of hair that had fallen on Draco's cheek.

"What the hell are you playing at, Potter?" Draco said. He hadn't been paying attention because Potter had managed to corner him.

"It's been a few weeks," Potter lowered his voice. "If it were a love potion, it would have worn off by now."

Draco ineffectually pushed at Potter's chest, but Potter only leaned in closer. His lips grazed Draco's mouth and the tip of Potter's tongue darted out, licking slowly.

"Is that what this is all about?" Draco whimpered, eyes widening as Potter took one last step, reaching up with both arms to cage Draco up against the wall. The look in Potter's eyes was alarming. Draco gulped and reached up to push at Potter's chest again, only his hand rebelled. Instead of pushing Potter away he stroked Potter's chest, and hooked his free arm over Potter's shoulder.

"No," Potter licked Draco's mouth again, a look of confidence on his face. "I'm here to ask you to help us." Potter pressed him hard up against the wall and before Draco could respond, Potter leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. There was nothing else to do but submit. Draco tilted his head and parted his lips to allow Potter to plunge his tongue deep into his mouth. Potter had him firmly in his arms.

When they broke apart, Draco felt dizzy, but he told himself it was because he hadn't eaten all day. It was definitely not because of the kiss.

"It's not a love potion, Malfoy," said Potter. Draco was glad for the privacy. His parents would have cursed Draco into oblivion if they could see their son now.

"Do you have to call me that? Can't you call me by my given name?" Draco teased.

Potter pressed their foreheads together and smirked. Just out of the corner of his eyes, Draco could see his white-blonde hair mixed with Potter's black, messy locks. It looked brilliant.

"Maybe after I shag you, I'll call you by your given name," said Potter confidently. His eyes sparkled with mirth.

"Really, Potter. You've spent entirely too much time with me," Draco purred, sliding his hand down to caress Potter's thigh. "I've completely corrupted you."

"Not enough time," Potter whispered as he kissed Draco again.

End


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